Saber Interactive's Evil Dead game has been delayed again
Now arriving in May.
World War Z developer Saber Interactive has announced a second delay for its Evil Dead game, which will now launch for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC on Friday, 13th May this year.
Saber's Evil Dead game - a co-operative experience that brings together familiar faces from all across the Evil Dead franchise to battle the forces of Darkness - was initially expected to arrive in 2021. However, the developer made the decision to delay its release last August, pushing the game into February 2022 in order to implement a single-player option for those occasions when co-op companions aren't readily to hand.
But with February right around the corner, it now transpires there's still more work to be done. "When we set out to create a brand new game worthy of the Evil Dead franchise," Saber explained in a new post on Twitter, "we knew it had to be groovy as hell." As such, the studio says it's pushing back release to 13th May, "in order to deliver the best possible experience".
"This delay gives our team the time they need to get things just right," the developer continues, "so your boomstick will be polished, fully loaded, and ready to blast Deadites on that Friday the 13th of May. We thank you for your patience and understanding."
Saber Interactive's Evil Dead game is the latest entry in the slowly expanding sub-genre of asymmetrical multiplayer horror, arming players on the side of good with chainsaws (and other assorted melee and ranged weapons) then pitting them against the Kandarian Demon, as controlled by another player, who roams the map attempting to thwart the humans' plans.
In a gameplay video shown last year, Saber explained that human players will need hunt down pages of the Necronomicon, Raymond Knowby's tapes, and other artefacts in order to cast the spell needed to vanquish the demon and win a match.
As for how all this will translate to a single-player experience, Saber confirmed in December that solo players will be able to tackle the multiplayer game using bots, and that it's also working on "a couple of side missions where you can play by yourself". We've yet to see the Evil Dead's solo side in action, but the developer says a new trailer will be arriving some time next month, so perhaps that's when more will be revealed.