Though other aspects of Sony’s business have been greatly impacted by the coronavirus crises, such as music and film, the corporation doesn’t anticipate that any of its forthcoming games will be similarly affected. As such, for now, the company says there are no expectations for game delays.
This morning, Sony noted as much in a statement “regarding the impact of the spread of the novel coronavirus.” In addition to outlining how the ongoing pandemic continues to alter its businesses, Sony says it estimates “no material impact” for the remainder of this fiscal year with regards to gaming. However, a watchful eye will be kept on any delay risks concerning first party studios and partner teams, especially those based out of the United States and Europe. Interestingly, this note makes no mention of PlayStation 5.
Sony’s Games and Network Services feels the effects elsewhere, though. Earlier in the week, the company announced plans to work with internet providers in Europe to help manage download traffic. Consequently, PlayStation users in Europe are likely to experience a drop in download speeds. Yesterday, Sony extended those same plans to the US.
Overall, the game industry has taken several hits during the last few weeks. Events have been cancelled or postponed, while a few big releases are being impacted here and there. For instance, both Final Fantasy VII Remake and Resident Evil 3 are expected to suffer shipment delays for the release of physical copies. Wired Productions pushed release dates on a couple of its titles as well, namely Delivers Us The Moon and Those Who Remain.
Just yesterday, Bethesda Game Studios announced that Fallout 76’s long-awaited Wastelanders update will now launch a week later than scheduled. This change is due to the difficulty of testing, since employees are now working from home remotely.
[Source: Sony Global via VG247]
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