Xbox Admits Mistake in Announcing Crackdown 3 Too Early

Crackdown 3 has had a rough few years since its announcement at E3 2014. Not only has it been delayed several times, most recently to spring 2018, but some fans have made it known how it just isn’t shaping up to be what they want, as evidenced by the reaction to multiple gameplay demos. Microsoft Studios Publishing General Manager Shannon Loftis has acknowledged their mistake in announcing the game too early.

“I think we probably announced Crackdown too early,” Loftis told Polygon at Gamescom this week.

Because the game has three distinct modes and is being worked on by three different studios—Reagent Games, Sumo Digital, and Cloudgine—the teams needed more time to push the bar and ensure that everything was of the highest quality. While this delay was disappointing and a hit to the Xbox One X’s launch lineup, it appears necessary so that a better experience is delivered.

“We definitely underestimated the challenge of making sure the quality bar of all three of those modes was high and it delivers on what we need to deliver on,” said Loftis. “So we had to take the extra time, [and] make sure that we’re delivering the game the Crackdown fans want. It was a super hard decision to do that, and it was made harder because we announced the game.”

Still, Loftis noted that even though fans may not be aware of what’s being planned for the coming years, the company is making sure that 2018 and 2019 consist of a solid lineup of games that players can enjoy.

“I think in the past we have made the mistake of announcing some exclusives a little bit too early,” she said. “We’re trying to learn from that mistake and do better, so we have a bit that’s in development now that we’re not talking about. We’re in this for the long haul, and we wanna make sure that not just in the spring of 2018, but in the summer, and in the fall, and the spring of 2019 that we’ll have great, unique, fun experiences for Xbox gamers.”

Barring any unforeseen problems, Crackdown 3 is set to release next year for Xbox One and PC.