Bethesda PS5 exclusive Ghostwire: Tokyo hit with delay

If you've been looking forward to Tango Gameworks' upcoming game Ghostwire: Tokyo, then we've got some sour news for you: Tango and Bethesda have decided to delay the game. Previously slated to release sometime in fall 2021, we learned today that Ghostwire: Tokyo will now miss that original release date by several months, as the game has been pushed back to early 2022.

Tango didn't give a more specific release window than that, but the game's new "early 2022" release is enough to tell us that it could be delayed by as much as five or six months. The company didn't give a specific reason for the delay in its announcement on Twitter today either, but the statement makes it sound like the game was delayed to avoid crunch and developer burnout.

"We've made the decision to delay the launch of Ghostwire: Tokyo to early 2022," the statement reads. "We want to get the game in your hands as soon as possible so you can experience the unforgettable version of a haunted Tokyo that we've been hard at work building. At the same time, we're also focused on protecting the health of everyone at Tango. Our new release window will give us time to bring the world of Ghostwire to life as we've always envisioned it."

Of course, game delays aren't a rare sight these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has derailed development on many titles as studios were forced to shift from working in-office to working from home. While Tango's statement doesn't mention the COVID-19 pandemic as a direct cause of the delay, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that it played some part.

Ghostwire: Tokyo is slated to be a PlayStation 5 console exclusive for a year, despite Tango Gameworks being a Microsoft subsidiary these days. When Microsoft purchased ZeniMax Media earlier this year, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that Microsoft would honor Bethesda's excisting exclusivity contracts, so those playing on Xbox Series X will have to wait an entire year after Ghostwire: Tokyo's launch on PS5 before they can get their hands on it. A Windows version of the game is slated to land at the same time as the PS5 version early next year.