2020 has been a strange year for video games. Partially due to the pandemic drastically affecting the world economy, as well as an unusually silent console launch year, game releases and announcements have been more disjointed compared to previous years. With the total replacement of E3 in favor of individual conferences, the usual summer hustle and bustle of gaming news has been far different. More interestingly, many of the game announcements and release dates have even posted as far out as 2022.
Frankly looking forward to any games in late 2020 or 2021 is a tenuous choice, considering the numerous factors that can (and already have) delayed development. Looking forward to 2022 games is even more far-fetched, but surprisingly enough, there are already a number of games both confirmed and rumored to release two years from now. It’s very likely this is in service to any pandemic-related delays that have already stained several of the 2020 releases. Despite how far away it is, 2022 is already looking great in terms of possible game releases.
Starting with the definitive announcements, there are already several games confidently announcing 2022 launch windows. Destiny 2‘s last big planned expansion, Lightfall, is slated for 2022, after Beyond Light beginning this fall and The Witch Queen beginning in 2021. Granted, the pandemic did end up forcing Bungie to delay Beyond Light to November, so it’s unclear if that may have shifted the remaining content years back as well.
DC’s Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, just announced last weekend at DC FanDome’s game segment, is also already planned for 2022. In a very different direction from Rocksteady’s previous Batman games, Suicide Squad is a far brighter superhero game in both tone and aesthetic. Plus without Batman as the center of attention, it gives multiple players to experience a new Rocksteady superhero game. 2021 is still covered by WB Montreal’s Gotham Knights, but Rocksteady’s next DC game will have fans waiting two years until it’s ready.
Even some of the more obscure titles are already confidently placing release windows in 2022. One of the big triple-A PS5 games, Housemarque Games’ Pragmata, is also planned for release in 2022. Even indie games like Sea of Stars, a highly-anticipated JRPG set as a prequel to The Messenger‘s universe, is also planned for 2022 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. And these are just the titles already confirmed for 2022, not even the games that are still in development.
Then there are the unknown titles, some of which are either rumored or potentially set for release in 2022. Several EA titles have been supposedly set for 2022, based on a section of the financial meeting detailing future games/franchises. Dragon Age 4 is supposedly on track to be released after the 2021 fiscal year, meaning at any point after April 2022. Additionally, a sequel to Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is supposedly in the works thanks to the success of the first game, and that could be a good time frame for it.
Additional rumors from a few choice games have also been rumored for 2022 as well. The long rumored Resident Evil 4 Remake is also supposedly slated for 2022 after the release of Resident Evil 8. Given the success of both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 Remake, it seems like a shoe-in based on the number of rumors and reports that Capcom and M-Two is working on it. From the Xbox side of things, Obsidian’s Avowed is also supposedly poised for a 2022 release, though again, fans should take this section with a grain of salt. 2 years is a lot of time for things to change.
Of course, there’s a major stipulation with all of these games in terms of their releases. Barring any major delays, 2022 could be a very good year for games. It’s undeniable that the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic will last much longer than many gaming fans may expect. Plenty of developers and publishers are being delayed significantly with working-from-home policies, most recently with Final Fantasy 7 Remake‘s second episode. That’s without mentioning Cyberpunk 2077, which has already been delayed twice to November 2020.
Presumably there will be even more game reveals for 2022 on the way, but even two years prior, 2022 is already hosting several big ticket releases already. Unfortunately, 2020 game delays means there’s going to be an air of uncertainty for the next two years of video game release dates. It’ll be interesting to see how developers and publishers readjust after the pandemic, and how far back several games may have been pushed.
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