UT3 delayed until 2008

By Ellie Gibson Published 3 October, 2007

Or not, if Epic can help it.

Epic Games boss Mark Rein has said the studio is still working hard to get Unreal Tournament 3 finished in time for Christmas - even though Midway reckons it won't be out till next year.

UT3 was originally due out this November on PC and PS3, with an Xbox 360 version to follow next year. But, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Midway's latest financial report says we won't see any versions of the game before 2008.

Blacksite: Area 51 has also been delayed, according to Midway. Like UT3, it's now set to arrive some time between January and March next year.

However, Rein reckons UT3 might make 2007 after all with a bit of luck. "As a public company, Midway felt an obligation to its shareholders to let them know about the possibility of a delay," he wrote on the Epic forums.

"But our goal is still to get the PS3 version of UT3 in stores before the end of 2007."

There are no guarantees though. "We will only ship it once it's ready and is the best game we can deliver," said Rein.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Danoxth #1 4 years ago

    Bugger....

  • souljacker2000 #2 4 years ago

    blame it on the PS3

  • hammerstein07 #3 4 years ago

    At the rate it's going, it'll probably end up 3 months later than the 360 version like all the other cross-platforms

  • mazzl #4 4 years ago

    ps3 realy is the nexy gen console. by the time it catches up it will be time for next gen ;)
    but this is not so nice for ps3 owners, they just have to keep waiting for stuff.
    not something sony can do about this, and better a finished gem then a rushed soso

  • Steroyd #5 4 years ago

    I blame PS... damn beaten.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #6 4 years ago

    Eurogamer guys: Your RSS feed still have the link to the previous UT3 article which is no longer available on your site.

  • Steroyd #7 4 years ago

    Sony paid Epic to improve UE3 for PS3, that's what Sony REALLY wants.

  • Brogan #8 4 years ago

    Still at least the PS3 has all those other great titles coming out this Xmas to hold everyone over.

  • graffekta #9 4 years ago

    Lol if there are delays I bet it's just a simultaneous release across the board...

    I'm kinda relieved in a way, it'll be tough choosing whether to play Halo 3 or TF2 without having UT3 to choose from as well. At least this way I'll get in a few more month of those...

  • Steroyd #10 4 years ago

    Hell yeah can't wait for Lair and Folklore screw Ratchet and Clank and Uncharted.

  • Freek #11 4 years ago

    Delay it, too many shooters by Christmass as it is, just go into 2008 and finish it properly. No need for rush jobs.

  • DonnieDarko333 #12 4 years ago

    Blacksite delayed as well?! Why?! It's surely nearly finished?

  • SBfistfun #13 4 years ago

    Release day patches ftw!

  • zuljin #14 4 years ago

    Actually EG, PC version is still on track for november. And there is some good news, because of the delay, PS3 version will get same maps as PC.

  • crozon #15 4 years ago

    according to gamespot

    "The warning comes in spite of a statement from Rein late Tuesday saying that the studio is still toiling to get the PS3 UT3 completed by year's end. However, Midway president and CEO David Zucker said in an investor conference call that any delay will not affect the PC edition, which is still set to release in early November"

    Cool, this means the PC version will be out this year.

  • Artemis_Matsas #16 4 years ago

    I agree with mazzl on his last comment.

    Better to have a finished as-good-as-it-can-get game, than a rushed one.

  • barnard666 #17 4 years ago

    I am really interested in the single player portion, it always sucked in the past because there were so many team battles, you could only have a limited impact on the final outcome...
    only ratchet and clank left for me this year on my PS3 then....oh and wipeout...

  • tonynibbles #18 4 years ago

    As someone said before:

    Quality > Delay

  • zuljin #19 4 years ago

    EG, EG, EG... How you've gone down in my books after sending me spam about Stranglehold...

    Linky to Marks comment for anyone interested:
    http://ut forums.epicgames.com/showthread...

  • sharpfish #20 4 years ago

    FFS been waiting 3 years for this... it's not 'just another shooter' to me, it's my bread and butter PC game (and editor). Stupid PS3 holding things up because it's a pain to Dev for as usual. :(

  • Beano #21 4 years ago

    "But this way crossplatform play and the maps that were previously not going to be in the PS3 version can now be introduced again."

    I really hope they still will keep cross-platform play away from the game - a bad idea anyway!

  • miiiguel #22 4 years ago

    Quality > Delay, For Fuck Sacke, PS3-only fellows, how long are you going to eat bullshit and say: "thank you Mr Sony, your so da cool!"

    I don't know, maybe you guys just want to "hear" about the oh so many great games PS3 has (Lair; Heavnly Something; The Shinny Jungle Thing), actually playing games is so passé.
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/07 @ 10:14

  • RexRunti #23 4 years ago

    PC version on time and will probably be the best version (unlike console-centric FPSs like Halo etc). So this isn't too much of an issue I just wonder what the PS3 console exclusivity period is.

  • J.C #24 4 years ago

    I think epic should release the PC and 360 version's first. epic are clearly struggling with the PS3 hardware, surely xbox live will be a better testing ground for the console game?

  • Trane #25 4 years ago

    Hm, didn't sony buy initial exclusivity on this? Meaning that it had to come out on PS3 before anything else?

    So whether or not the PC version is still on track for november, I'd be very surprised to actually see it released then.

    PS - I want the PC version now, badly =/

  • Cylinder #26 4 years ago

    Surely it was just a console exclusive (just like BioShock was a 360 console exclusive). They wouldn't hold up the PC release, it's UT's home platform after all.

  • captainrentboy #27 4 years ago

    Hmmm, I reckon there wont be such a huge gap between the PS3 and 360 versions now after all. Sony really need to pull their finger out of their collective asses, I'm not sure how they can help out the various developers out there, better tools I guess, but they need to do it soon, because even general, common or garden, gamers (Not us lot of sad geeks :)) are getting fucked off with delays.
    I work for glorious GAME, and I can tell quite a few of our regulars are getting miffed with the continuous PS3 no shows come their supposed release date.
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/07 @ 11:42

  • alpha-0ne #28 4 years ago

    PC version in still 07 thats what matters..?

  • Dizzy #29 4 years ago

    "Hm, didn't sony buy initial exclusivity on this? Meaning that it had to come out on PS3 before anything else? "

    No 360 version was delayed because of "mod" problems with Live and Epic wanted to clear that up first before finishing it (and ofc they do not really want to go up against Halo 3 and TF2).

  • RickHard #30 4 years ago

    How strange such an Ubermachine as the PS3 sees all its games delayed because it is so difficult to get any engine run fine on it... First, GTAIV, now UT3.

  • MasterGrief #31 4 years ago

    Mr Bill Gates - ''It's perfect,' Gates says, radiant with bloodlust. 'The day Sony launches PS3, and they walk right into Halo 3' Whatever came of that eh ?

    List of delayed 360 games

    Halo 3
    Mass Effect
    Alan Wake
    DOA4
    GTA4
    Assassins Creed
    PGR4
    Resident Evil 5
    Too Human - lol

    Looks like devs are having some real trouble getting games to work on the poor-mans PC

  • BBIAJ #32 4 years ago

    That was just an off-the-cuff remark by Gates, it was never M$'s plan.

    PGR4 was only ever going to be released when it was ready, so a delay of less than a month is nothing.

    GTa4: You're blaming the wrong console mate.

    As for all the other delayed games, as others have already said, I'd far rather that they be delayed and released finished than rushed out and be all the worse off for it.

    And finally, you're listing just 360 exclusives there, the PS3 devs are struggling with what should be relatively simple cross-platform releases.

    Edited for PS3 bias.
    Edited by 2 at 03/10/07 @ 15:40

  • captainrentboy #33 4 years ago

    Mastergrief, the big difference being that the 360 will always have some other nice titles to be getting on with should another get delayed.
    The PS3 on the otherhand is severely lacking anything that can truely set it apart from the 360, so when something like this gets delayed, which would have undoubtedly been a big hitter this side of Chrimbo and a nice lil 'exclusive' for Sony to have for a few months, it's all the more dissapointing....For PS3 owners.
    And the thing is it's not so much this as it is all the Multi-platform ones that keep getting delayed on Sony's machine but make it out on time for the others.

  • Triggerhappytel #34 4 years ago

    So, how will this affect Sony's 2007 exclusive on UT3? Will it be a cross-platform launch after all...?!