Belarusian-based Sad Cat Studio has been forced to delay their next game, Replaced, to 2023 because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Another Sad Cat Studio game developer shared a regrettable update about the delayed title, citing the security and health concerns for developer Sad Cat Studios following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Developer Sad Cat Studios has delayed it, to be released sometime in 2023, because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. As announced via statement over Twitter, developer Sad Cat Studios and publisher Coatsink confirmed that, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine impacts game development, Replacements will no longer be meeting its release window in 2022.
The war in Ukraine has affected many studios, with companies such as Wargames choosing to stop operations in Russia and Belarus in order to demonstrate their support of Ukraine. Game studios showed their support for Ukraine, with some developers creating projects that were A clear middle finger to the invasion. Vostok Games and Frogware are among the other Ukrainian studios affected by the Russian invasion.
According to Sad Cat Studios, some members of the team lived in areas surrounding the Belarus-based Sad Cat, which was adversely affected by the Ukrainian War. Unfortunately, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has had a serious effect on the development and the release of Replaced, since most of the team is located in that area.
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— REPLACED (@REPLACEDGame) May 25, 2022
Publishers Coatsink and Sad Cat prioritized the mental and physical health of both developers, by not forcing an initial deadline which was unintentionally affected, and so replaced is currently expected to release sometime in 2023. In an effort to secure shares, Sad Cat Studios made an apparent choice by delaying the game to 2023, where the original timelines that were unexpectedly affected would not be challenged.
It is sad the 2.5D had to be delayed in the first place, but if this means that the health and safety of the people involved are being prioritized and that the game is going to arrive at its desired quality at a suitable time, it is going to result in a positive release for all. Delaying 2.5D until 2023 is a smart decision, and fans will be equally thrilled to play it then when it is capable of matching the quality depicted by a short gameplay trailer. Replacement is currently scheduled for the Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC, alongside releases for Game Pass.
GSC Game World announced last week that they had restarted Stalker 2 development, having originally suspended work on the game back in March. Other details, meanwhile, will have to wait for developers to get comfortable sharing more, and fans are lucky to hear that, following the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they at least have reconfigured themselves to be able to resume work on the game. Development of the soon-to-be-released cyberpunk game Replaced has restarted following the hiatus, though for how long the project was suspended is unknown.
