Ubisoft revealed today that South Park: The Stick of Truth will not be out by the end of 2013. They've pushed the game's release from December to March 2014.
The company announced the December release date a month ago. It seemed at the time that the game's string of delays were at an end. However, Ubisoft wants some more time to polish the game. They're now targeting a March 4th, 2014 release date.
“Within three weeks after acquiring the game, we sadly realized we had to turn this thing upside down if we hoped to deliver the experience everybody wanted,” Ubisoft North America’s president Laurent Detoc said on the company blog. “It’s been such a major overhaul to get to the point where we are that we couldn't let it go, even if that meant missing December.”
Stick of Truth was originally intended as a 2012 release. Then-publisher THQ later revised the release window to April 2013. However, the company went belly-up months before Stick's launch. Ubisoft purchased the rights to the game in January.
In Stick of Truth, players take on the role of a new kid who moves to South Park. They team up with Stan and his friends to recover the titular Stick of Truth. The adventure was written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The two are also voicing many of the characters.
"We always wanted the game to feel like you’re actually in an episode of South Park," said a statement from the duo released today. "Getting the game up to the crappy standards of the show has been a real challenge and we’re excited to say it’s taken way longer than we thought it would."
The game is available for pre-order in two flavors: the $59.99 Standard Edition or the $79.99 Grand Wizard Edition. The Grand Wizard package includes a six-inch Cartman figurine and a game map. Pre-ordering either edition will give you access to the Ultimate Fellowship Pack, loaded with four costumes with stat bonuses.
Perhaps to soften today's news, Ubisoft sent out a new trailer and two screenshots. You can check them out below.
