Earlier this week, developers RocketWerkz and GRIP Studios announced that the console release for the popular survival game, ICARUS, would be delayed by one month, from its initial February 26, 2026, release date to March 26, 2026. Along with announcing the delay, the studios also confirmed that the team would host a Reddit AMA on r/Survival Gaming, during which DayZ creator Dean Hall (who is also the creator of ICARUS) called on consumers to help "normalize delaying games."
The statement doesn't come in the form of an answer from Hall, but rather as a preface before the AMA even kicks off. Hall begins by writing, "We need to talk frankly about delays." He continues, "Games cost a lot of money to make. Timing makes a tremendous difference to the cost of a game, so there can be huge impacts with delays [in] releasing a game."
"Players want quality and certainty, but it is my belief that developers latch onto this and get 'target fixation' about launches. Some of this is because of revene pressures, but much of it is wrapped up in perception. We are here today to break this perception. Failure to delay also leads to 'crunch culture.' So I am here today on a mission - let us normalize delaying games. You as consumers have the power to make it clear to platform holders (Xbox, PlayStation) that delays are okay."
When ICARUS: Console Edition was delayed earlier this week, the statement from the teams insisted that the game was in a "strong and stable state," but it chose to delay the game to give the team more time to polish it, "rather than launch with known issues."
In response to a question about game delays, Hall continued to discuss the issue, saying, "I think most delays happen due to a failure to hit quality. And even when devs want to provide quality, they don't have the money they can spend to hit it. So they try to hide it, or ignore it. This is what happened with the ICARUS launch and we paid the price of going to 'Mixed.' As the studio got more fund security, we tried to break this cycle. But it is hard."
For more on ICARUS, check out our interview with Dean Hall, where we dug into the console edition and the evolution of the survival genre.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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