Take-Two Interactive has made it known in their latest financial results for the first quarter that Evolve has been pushed back from its fall season release to an early 2015 launch on February 10th. The game was originally scheduled to launch on October 21st for the Xbox One, PS4 and for PC.
The news comes courtesy of the public press release of Take-Two Interactive's financials for the first quarter over on Business Wire. In the report the company lays out their upcoming slate of games, as well as performance from Take-Two's subsidiaries throughout the current year, so far.
In the report we find out that Evolve has been moved out of its holiday release window and into the early half of 2015. The delay is definitely minor and probably designed to help give it some breathing room as far as sales go since 2K Games (another subsidiary of Take-Two) will be unleashing Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel in the middle of October, which would have directly pitted it against the launch of Evolve just a few days later.
Technically, the demographics may have been different, as Evolve is only releasing on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC, where-as Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel is releasing only on the Xbox 360 and PS3. However, there's still considerable overlap in the demographic considering the large install base for both the PS3 and Xbox 360, as well as the fact that both games are first-person shooters.
Even more than that is the fact that Evolve – had it stayed in the October slot – would have been facing stiff competition from other heavy hitters such Ubisoft's two Assassin's Creed titles and Activision's aging but perpetually reliable Call of Duty franchise. That's not even mentioning the fact that Take-Two's other subsidiary, Rockstar Games, would be re-releasing Grand Theft Auto V on the PS4, Xbox One and PC around the same time. There could be some arguments made about the games being in vastly different genres, but the effect of cannibalization is just way too apparent to ignore.
As much as many gamers may hate it, it's a safe bet to say that, business wise, this was a smart move by Take-Two Interactive.
Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two played up the strengths of the company nonetheless, talking up their upcoming titles with nonchalant confidence, stating...
Take-Two has an extraordinary development pipeline, including a diverse array of the highest-quality new titles and innovative offerings designed to drive recurrent consumer spending. Our lineup for the current fiscal year is highlighted by six eagerly anticipated new releases, such as Grand Theft Auto V for PS4, Xbox One and PC, NBA 2K15, and Evolve - the winner of the E3 2014 Game Critics’ Best of Show award. Fiscal 2015 is poised to be another year of strong profits for our organization, and we remain extraordinarily well-positioned for the future.”
For a new IP it's always a big risk going in against established brands and annual sequels. Giving Evolve an early February launch is a decent enough window that it allows gamers who were broke over the holiday season to spend a little something on the early-year offerings while also keeping it clear of other big 2015 titles such as the highly anticipated Batman: Arkham Knight.
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