Bandai Namco has had three major constants over the past few years: FromSoftware fans waiting out the gaps between announcements, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Xenoverse DLC, and Digimon Survive getting delayed. Recently, things have been changing. FromoSoftware’s Elden Ring is a few months away from release, meanwhile Dragon Ball FighterZ wrapped development and most of the Xenoverse team at Dimps is now working on Dragon Ball: The Breakers. Perhaps the greatest sign of these changing times is that it seems Digimon Survive is finally on the verge of release.
This title is set to be the latest video game in the Digimon franchise, and it has been in the works for a very long time. Announced in the July 2018 issue of Japanese magazine V-Jump, Digimon Survive intends to bring Digimon to a new frontier. The game alternates between a visual novel with survival elements and strategy-RPG gameplay, with Digimon’s typical evolutionary mechanics worked directly into battles. On the story side, Survive is expected to be darker than the average Digimon work, offering the player choice in how they wish to shape the narrative. It seems like an experimental game, but due to the pandemic and probably other development issues, its situation hasn’t been so simple.
The Many Delays of Digimon Survive
Historically, when a game is delayed for a long time, it goes silent for a long time before re-emerging. This has been seen with big-name titles like Kingdom Hearts 3, Duke Nukem Forever, and Dying Light 2. Providing annual updates for a game moving into the next year is not a common practice, as it can lead to the fans feeling like it will never come out. Yet, for whatever reason this was the approach Bandai Namco has taken regarding this title. What was initially stated to be a 2019 release ended up taking far longer than anyone expected.
Halfway through 2019, Digimon Survive was delayed to 2020. Then on July 29, 2020, Toei Animation Europe said Survive would release for Europe in January 2021. This was quickly removed from its website. On October 8, 2020, producer Kazumasa Habu posted on Twitter that Survive was delayed again, which was quickly followed up on October 15 with an official announcement that the delay to 2021 came due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, on October 28, 2021, Kazumasa announced on Twitter that the game was now delayed to 2022.
A Light at the End of Digimon Survive’s Tunnel
While that is an impressive collection of delays, it seems like the time for Digimon Survive’s release is officially drawing closer. Survive has been rated in Australia, Brazil, and Korea over the past few months, and the ESRB assigned the game a “T for Teen” rating around the beginning of December. It seems like Digimon Survive will finally be released into the world soon, as the ESRB only tends to rate games that are a few months away from launch. The Digimon community could see Survive as early as the first half of 2022.
The most recent delay was the result of the developers needing more time to “enhance the quality of the game,” which may suggest that Digimon Survive is in its final polishing phase. It would be nice to have the game out soon so Bandai Namco can make way for other Digimon projects, but none can say where it will take the series next. At any rate, while it has been an exhausting ride, it seems like the twisting tale of Digimon Survive is finally nearing an end.
Digimon Survive is scheduled for release in 2022 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
