You know that song “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen? The eponymous line in that track has repeated often in my head over the last year for every game delay announcement. It’s almost like the industry’s theme song at this point. Following the news earlier in the week with Marvel’s Midnight Suns and ARC Raiders getting delayed, well, another one has bit it. Dotemu announced that the upcoming Metal Slug Tactics has been delayed, going against the original strategy.
The news was revealed in the usual place. On Twitter, Dotemu wrote that “the squad needs a bit more time in the shop to prepare for the battles ahead.” The publisher was referring to the four-person team that originally starred in the series. They’re displayed nicely in an accompanying piece of art by AngryangryD, where they’re fixing up a Metal Slug tank.
However, neither Dotemu or developer Leikir Studio have provided a clearer reason why Metal Slug Tactics got delayed. The speculative reason is that the game needs more tuning and polish. Originally, Metal Slug Tactics was scheduled for an early 2022 release. August is well past “early,” so clearly it wasn’t going to happen.
Marco, Eri, Fio, and Tarma are tinkering away to make #MetalSlugTactics as explosive as possible on release, but the squad needs a bit more time in the shop to prepare for the battles ahead. See you in 2023! @LeikirStudio x @Dotemu
Artwork by @AngryangryD pic.twitter.com/JRKqpnvUQp— Dotemu (@Dotemu) August 11, 2022
Bringing my rocket lawn chair next year
Metal Slug Tactics is a tactical RPG based on the classic arcade franchise. It takes a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, allowing you to move units and pick targets to take out. The game was revealed as a surprise back in June 2021. For years, the franchise has stuck to its guns as a 2D shoot ’em up by SNK, first occupying arcades as popular quarter-munchers. There hasn’t been a release since Metal Slug XX in 2010 (2009 in Japan). So Tactics came as a welcome announcement.
Metal Slug Tactics has been delayed to 2023, but there isn’t a more specific date yet.
