Shift 2: Unleashed delayed by a week

Slightly Mad Studios' simulation racer Shift 2: Unleashed has been delayed by a week.

It was due out on 25th March. It will now launch on 1st April.

In a press release issued today (spotted by MCV), EA mentioned Unleashed "races onto retail shelves in Europe beginning on March 31".

That's a Thursday – suggesting a 1st April UK launch.

Shift 2 is EA's attempt to beat Sony's Gran Turismo and Microsoft's Forza series in the hotly contested simulation racer race.

Last year lead designer Andy Tudor highlighted the differences between Shift 2, GT5 and Forza 3 in an interview with Eurogamer.

"The fun is behind the wheel, feeling you're on the edge, pushing it to the limit, putting in the cars that are relevant and cool to drive, allowing you to completely customise those from factory to the works level we had in Shift 1, and giving you the chance to then play against your friends in a social way," he said.

"It's a different way of thinking, basically. We want to take those guys on. We want to make a more authentic experience."

Despite Shift 2 being an extension of the Need for Speed brand, the Need for Speed moniker has been dropped from the game's title. It does, however, utilise the groundbreaking Autolog social tool used in Criterion's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.