Brink release date brought forward

By Fred Dutton Published 11 April, 2011

Bethesda shooter moves up a week.

Forthcoming Bethesda FPS Brink hits the shelves a week earlier than initially planned, the publisher has announced.

Gamers in Europe can now pick up the Splash Damage-developed title on 13th May, rather than the 20th, while US gamers get it on the 10th May, rather than the 17th.

"Production wrapped on Brink earlier than we planned and we didn't see any reason to keep gamers from getting their hands on this highly anticipated game as soon as it was ready," explained Bethesda marketing man Pete Hines.

"It's apparent from the tremendous reaction so far that people are eager to jump online and play, and if we can make that happen earlier - we're going to."

The parkour-influenced shooter will be available on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Take a look at Quintin Smith's recent hands-on preview for more colour.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (36) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Drone #1 1 year ago

    Could the fact it was coming out the same day as L.A. Noire have anything to do with it? Really looking forward to this though so I'm happy!

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #2 1 year ago

    @Drone
    Exactly what I was going to say re: LA Noire. Just look at what happaned to the games that went up against Red Dead Redemption last year.

  • CaptainQuint #3 1 year ago

    Y'know, I think this game looks really quite promising; the problem though is the over-saturation of the fps market. Right now I've got first person shooter fatigue and I need a break from the genre. I'll probably pick this up, but not till the autumn at the very earliest.

    I just hope for Bethesda that not everyone shares my train of thought.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #4 1 year ago

    Ill wait for LA Noire

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #5 1 year ago

    Ill wait for LA Noire

  • Lotos8ter #6 1 year ago

    @Oli - I can't remember the games that went up against Red Dead last year, which probably speaks volumes. I'm getting LA Noire, will wait for Brink reviews though.

  • HisDudness #7 1 year ago

    Who are they (free) running from?

    That's a lot of respect for L.A. Noire's market draw. I don't see that title doing anywhere near the numbers that RDR did. Having said that both titles look pretty great. I hope that they can bring something fresh to the scene.

  • nooneyouknow #8 1 year ago

    Right now I've got first person shooter fatigue and I need a break from the genre.

    Yep, with you on that one. Was keen on this but now that I've realised that I might pass.... for now.

  • bratmandu #9 1 year ago

    I think Alan Wake came out same time as Red Dead - Wake turned out really well but I didn't play it till many months after release.

    As for this - I'll need a demo, looks like some nice ideas in there.

  • Ryboy #10 1 year ago

    Inflected?

  • TheRealBadabing #11 1 year ago

    Will definitely be worth waiting another week for LA Noire, been looking forward to it's online FPS action and customisable weap....hang on.

  • MrChuckles #12 1 year ago

    I've heard reports that it is short, complex (Perhaps the most complex FPS in recent years), but bloody good fun.

    Will there be moaning about the length?

  • infernox1 #13 1 year ago

    @captainquint autumn is when all the shooters will start appearing again. battlefield 3, next call of duty etc.

  • asphaltcowboy #14 1 year ago

    Will be getting this (and LA Noire)!

  • DozyKipper #15 1 year ago

    I really want this to be good but I'm wobbling. Buy or not to buy?

  • evild_edd #16 1 year ago

    @MrChuckles: Short? This has been marketed from day 1 as being all about the MP. Imagine very much that the SP will be a tutorial to get people in to the MP experience.

    No sure how MP can be 'short'? Is a football game short because all the ptiches effectively play the same way and it's only the same game over and over again....?

    Unless there's only 2 maps or something. In which case they have had a shocker.

    I have some hopes that Brink will be great fun in MP, but I'm feeling cautious enough to wait for review.

    As for LA Noire, obviously they're massively different titles, but spending money (and gaming time) is only finite for most, so it is competition in a way. Both could be purchases for me, but I'm waiting for reviews on both.

  • Daeltaja #17 1 year ago

    I had a giant feeling that this would be brought forward because of Noire. I did often think "What are Bethesda doing! Surely they can push to release it a week or two earlier, considering what happened last year!" I think Alan Wake, Split/Second, Blur and UFC 10' launched around Red Dead and suffered severely as a result.

    Great news though, I have both preordered and wasn't looking forward to juggling them. Now The Witcher 2 is stuck in between them.. ARGH!
    Edited by Daeltaja at 11/04/11 @ 17:45

  • BBIAJ #18 1 year ago

    Alan Wake was the week before RDR, I remember breaking it down and playing it episodically, to make it more like a TV series, and last me until RDR's arrival.

    Blur and Split/Second: Velocity were also released in the same month.

  • asphaltcowboy #19 1 year ago

    @evild_edd: "This has been marketed from day 1 as being all about the MP. Imagine very much that the SP will be a tutorial to get people in to the MP experience."

    Clearly the marketing hasn't reached you very well at all then, because I'm pretty sure you have the same story missions running through all the modes and can play them either solo (with/against bots), co-op (with/against bots) or online. Short is not a word I would equate with Brink.

  • Vortex808 #20 1 year ago

    \o/ Great news- a week less to wait! \o/

  • Stratix #21 1 year ago

    This is the best news I've heard all day. It's not often that games are moved forward instead of moved back. I'm really looking forward to this game, I think it is going to consume an immense amount of my free time!

  • metalangel #22 1 year ago

    I hate to say it but Brink is a definite 'meh' for me. Absolutely nothing about it has intrigued me.

  • Murton #23 1 year ago

    I've been stoked about Brink ever since it was first revealed but I have been wondering in recent weeks if I'll get 40 quids worth out of it if I don't like the online, and my experience of other objective based multiplayer tells me that I likely won't.

    Also it's a Bethesda, so as a PS3 owner I'm on immediately curious as to whether or not I can expect things like patches and the DLC required to make the game complete again.

  • milki-tea #24 1 year ago

    I'm saving my pennys already for Brink and LA Noire, and hopefully i should have finished Portal 2 by the time the 13th of May comes around....Can't wait for May!

  • Peter_LIAR_Molyneux #25 1 year ago

    Bethesda pushing up a game is curious. That better mean that there aren't a shitload of bugs like there seem to be in every single Bethesda title of the past 5 years.

  • Wheatley #26 1 year ago

    How refreshing!

  • dean0null #27 1 year ago

    Great news!

  • Syrette #28 1 year ago

    Makes very good business sense. Fair play to them.

  • Spekingur #29 1 year ago

    My wallet is going to feel a bit empty in May :/

  • kinky_mong #30 1 year ago

    Very wise move! Hopefully this will mean it doesn't get completely overshadowed by LA Noire.

  • 32768Colours #31 1 year ago

    Whilst Brink looks good, it seems to have come at a really bad time for me. Also, if the focus is MP then I'm not going to bother because that's not my thing.

    This is just personally, but this past couple of months I've played (the surprisingly lacklustre) Bulletstorm a £6 copy of Kane and Lynch 2 from Tesco, and - because I've only had a PS3 a short while - Resistance and Killzone 2. I'm also currently playing through (the better than Bulletstorm!) Earth Defence Force 2017 and have borrowed Operation Flashopint: Dragon Rising off my brother. So as far as "blokes with guns" games go, I'm spent.

    In fact, I just picked up Disgaea 3 to try and de-fps my brain for a while!

    As for L.A. Noire, if plays anything like Rockstar's other games I won't bother. I still haven't played RDR. I know its not a popular thing to say; I think I must be the only person on earth who finds Rockstar's games fascinating and epic in principle, but repetitious and clumsy in practice.

    May will be a quiet month for me then, which actually might not be a bad thing considering the amount of games I've got sat around waiting to be completed :)

  • ruddiger7 #32 1 year ago

    wow dont often see games brought forward just a few weeks before release

  • carlitoswagon #33 1 year ago

    Encouraging that Brink appears finished and ready to ship. Always a good sign. Crysis 2 already traded in for it and hoping for dedicated servers??

  • mukki #34 1 year ago

    Yup...
    agree it just has to to with the LA Noir release date...

    I think I will get both

  • JammyC #35 1 year ago

    Brilliant. So can we have a demo or Beta a week earlier too please?

  • WeirdbeardUK #36 1 year ago

    I've been wanting to buy both but couldnt really afford to shell ou for them both, So I'll get this if i cant get on with it, It will help ease the money flow the week after to get it as no doubt it'll be on a trade in deal @ Game.