Microsoft on Thursday said Crackdown 3 would miss its 2017 launch date and is being pushed back until next year. Shannon Loftis, Microsoft Studios Publishing general manager, recently confirmed the news with Polygon.
In speaking with the publication, Loftis said Crackdown 3 is a hugely ambitious game and they want to ensure they deliver the right experiences across every part of the game including the campaign, co-op multiplayer and competitive multiplayer modes.
Getting the right balance between the three modes is important, Loftis said, which is why they are going to take some extra development time to ensure that happens. The team will also be focusing on the game's visual polish.
Loftis said it was a difficult call to move the release date, adding that gamers can now expect it to arrive next spring. No specific launch date was given.
Microsoft announced Crackdown 3 at E3 2014 and shared an official 4K launch trailer at this year's event. The game was originally scheduled to arrive in the third quarter of 2016 before being delayed for the first time. Before today's news, Crackdown 3 was to be a launch title alongside Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One X console due out on November 7, 2017.
The first Crackdown game was released in 2007. It was an instant hit, spawning a sequel just three years later.