The prison management simulator game Prison Architect 2 has been postponed indefinitely.
Paradox Interactive recently announced the news forum postin which the publisher explained that the game’s release will be delayed until before its September 3 release, in order to improve both performance and content.
“Our ongoing internal reviews and beta testing groups have highlighted areas that we need to focus more on, primarily performance and content, which we need to address prior to launch to ensure you, the players, have a good experience in the game,” Paradox said. “We still need to raise the quality a bit to meet the standards we want to achieve with this sequel.
“We are convinced that the sequel to Prison architect will be amazing, and we look forward to showing you all the new ideas that have gone into it: the move to 3D, multiple floors, and the new behavior system, all of which will add a new dimension to the game and open up new gameplay possibilities for players. However, we want to make sure that the game lives up to the legacy of the franchise and is released in a state that both you, our players, and the Prison Architect 2 teams at Kokku and Paradox Interactive.”
After being announced in January, the sim game was initially scheduled for release on March 26, but was delayed to May 7. Paradox said at the time that it was “confident in the quality of the game” but that it needed “additional time to identify bugs and optimize the game for all platforms”. However, Prison Architect 2 was then postponed again in Apriland got a new launch date: September 3.
After the last announcement, the publisher was unable to reveal a new release date, meaning that the Prison Architect 2 has been indefinitely delayed until Paradox can “reassess the scope of work that needs to be done before the game is ready for release.”
The message goes on to say that Paradox will focus on improving the game and establishing a “more robust release timeline” over the coming months, and that it will limit communication with fans until it finds a timeline it’s happy with.
Due to the indefinite delay, pre-orders on all platforms (including PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Steam) have been refunded. Pre-order items will instead be added to the base game.
“We are convinced that postponing Prison Architect 2 is the best path forward for the game, giving us more time to deliver a high-quality experience that honors the legacy of Prison Architect,” Paradox added. “This isn’t the announcement we were hoping to make, but it’s necessary, as we believe it will result in a better game for you.”