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Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

Mount & Blade II release date won't be revealed at Gamescom

A lengthy blog post explains the situation.

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At E3 this year fans of Tale Worlds Entertainment's Mount & Blade series were disappointed when the studio didn't reveal a release date for their upcoming game Bannerlord, and now the developers have made clear before Gamescom that it won't get a release date then either.

"Gamescom is around the corner, and as you may have imagined, we will be there showcasing Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. We can't tell you exactly what we will show just yet, but we can at least confirm that it will be something slightly different from the demo that we took to E3," the blog post starts, before getting into the meat of the matter. "Before the hype goes through the roof: no, we won't announce a release date for Bannerlord at Gamescom. Of course, we know that you just can't wait to know when you will be able to play Bannerlord, and we certainly appreciate your excitement for the game - we know that impatience is just a reflection of the love people have for the Mount & Blade series. Over the preceding days, months and, well, years, you have repeatedly asked us why we can't just tell you a date - even if it's just an estimation, a window of release. Well, let's address the elephant in the room..."

The studio then explains that a release date has not been announced because it doesn't exist, either privately or publically. No timeline exists for the game, and they're taking their time to make the best product. As they write themselves: "We don't believe in releasing a game before it is ready just because we might miss the hype."

They also added that, because they haven't got shareholders and investors pressuring them, they don't have to hurry their work to meet schedules imposed by others, and they say that, despite it making no business sense to keep delaying the release, they're more concerned about "developing a game that is truly unique, something that you will enjoy playing as much as we love making it."

Another topic they wanted to address is why it's taken them so long. "Well, the main reason is the size of the game. Bannerlord has a huge sandbox campaign which contains a number of different features that players can experience and enjoy. This includes, but is not limited to: fief and kingdom management, a deep trading system, a diplomacy and relationship system, and epic battles with hundreds of on-screen combatants that the player can command. Then there's the multiplayer aspect of the game, featuring a matchmaking system for the first time in the Mount & Blade series, which lets players test their combat and tactical skills against players from all over the world. We are also working on ways to support our fantastic modding community by making the game as highly moddable as possible. Five years is actually not that long for the development of a game which encompasses as much as Bannerlord does. There are a lot of fundamental tech and architecture changes compared to Warband: it's more complex than just adding some new textures and animations. It involves the technology, such as the new engine we built from scratch, but also the system, the mechanics - this is about balancing the invisible, the look and feel of the gameplay."

Do you appreciate their reasoning?

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

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