Cyberpunk platformer Replaced is delayed because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

pcgamer.com:

Revealed at the Xbox-Bethesda showcase in 2021, Replaced(opens in new tab) is a 2.5D cyberpunk action-platformer set in an alt-history 1980s US, a nation plagued by corruption, greed, and a general collapse of society in the wake of a catastrophic nuclear event. As an artificial intelligence imprisoned in a human body, players must explore the region of Phoenix-City and learn to adjust to human life, while «beginning to understand that everything comes at a price.»

I dig the concept and the announcement trailer released last year (embedded above) is a real eye-grabber. Unfortunately, it's going to be a longer-than-expected wait before I (and you) get to play it. Publisher Coatsink said today that because of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, it's been forced to delay the release from 2022 to 2023.

«The Belarusian-based studio working on the game, Sad Cat Studios, has a team of talented developers from Belarus and Ukraine,» the delay message says. «Unfortunately, the continued war in Ukraine has heavily impacted the development of Replaced, as most of the team resides in the neighboring regions.

»The priority for Sad Cat was for the safety of the team and their families. As a result, part of the team has now relocated and work has only recently restarted on Replaced."

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Coatsink and Sad Cat are «prioritizing both the physical and mental health of the developers by not forcing the original deadlines that have been unexpectedly impacted,» and thus Replaced is now expected to be out in 2023.

Sad Cat is in a very unusual situation, because Belarus and Ukraine are actually on opposite sides of the war: Belarus, which borders