The King of Fighters XV delayed until early 2022 due to COVID

The FGC has had a good time for some years with its competitive scenes growing continuously, enough reasons for the genre to remain relevant and for the big franchises to do the same by launching new instalments, in addition to the return of big events such as the EVO 2021 from the hand of PlayStation. The King of Fighters is one of them as many players have waited for the launch of The King of Fighters XV, the next instalment of the famous SNK franchise, and who have been revealing part of what they have prepared for this title.

King of Fighters XV delayed - New release date?

In the early hours of the morning on 2nd June 2021, the bad news was released which has turned all fans of the saga upside down, as it was announced The King of Fighters XV will not arrive this year as planned, but now it will be released during the first quarter of 2022.

At the time of writing, SNK has not revealed a new release date for King of Fighters XIV, and just gave the broad release window of Q1 2022.

Although the game has presented a great advance, thanks to what has been shown in recent months on its official YouTube channel, it seems that the delay is due to a reason that has affected the entire industry recently: the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Picture: SNK)

Through a statement by the game's producer, Yasuyuki Oda, this decision was made due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan, a situation that has once again altered the development and launch plans not only in SNK but in many video game companies within the Asian country.

"There are many fans who are anticipating the release of KOF XV in 2021, however [...] we have made the ultimate decision in the end that the product's quality must come first, and so with that decision comes an altered release window. We sincerely ask for your kind patience and understanding as our development teams continue to work hard on KOF XV as we draw closer to its release."

So far, a total of 22 playable characters have been announced as part of the title’s roster, including iconic ones like Terry Bogard, Mai Shiranui, Joe Higashi and Shermie, not to mention the legendaries Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami.

(Picture: SNK)

For now, it is not known if SNK will continue with its plans to publish new previews of the game weekly, within its networks due to this delay, however, it is expected the final product will be the best its fans have been waiting for, without having to put at risk the health of their workers.

The King of Fighters XV will be released during the first quarter of 2022, both on PC, and on current and next-generation consoles.

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