'Friday the 13th' game delayed to 2017
Developers hope a single-player mode will soften the blow.
Friday the 13th: The Game will miss its 2016 release window, and is now scheduled for early 2017. The developer of the crowdfunded title announced the delay to Kickstarter backers, but softened the blow with some added features. A "single-player experience" -- originally a missed stretch goal -- is being worked on, along with AI bots for offline multiplayer. Prior to the recent announcement, Friday the 13th was set to be a online-only affair, and that mode will still be the main focus of the game.
The broad pitch for Friday the 13th: The Game is that one player controls the antagonist Jason Vorhees, while seven others are counsellors at Camp Crystal Lake (aka Camp Blood), attempting to evade the serial killer's deadly advances. Jason is obviously overpowered, and can dispatch his victims in various creative ways, while other player-controlled characters need to rely on stealth and strategy to survive. Precise details on what exactly the single-player mode will encompass -- or even if you'll embody killer or kill-ee -- aren't forthcoming, but we'll undoubtably hear more in the coming months.
"The first thing people are going to read here is 'delay,'" the game's co-creator Wes Keltner said, "... coming to our decision to delay was no easy matter, but we believe that the positives far outweigh the negatives." Although the release is most definitely delayed, backers and pre-orderers alike will still have something to look forward to this year.
A beta release will arrive in "late 2016," and everyone that's purchased the game will be given four additional (beta-only) keys to hand out to friends. That'll be followed by the full multiplayer release in early 2017, with the single-player mode and AI bots arriving in the summer. Everyone that's backed or pre-ordered will get the additions free of charge, but the digital price of the game has increased from $30 to $40 for newcomers. (The physical edition will remain at $60).
Although the game is scheduled to launch on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the beta will only be available on PC. "It sucks that there's a delay," Keltner added, "but the wait won't be too long and it's going to offer more for fans in the long-run!"
