Forspoken's PlayStation Exclusivity Deal is Longer Than Usual

gamerant.com:

Thanks to the radio silence that Luminous Productions has adopted over recent months, the news the studio broke a couple of weeks ago won’t have come as much of a surprise to its followers. Having consulted with its owner Square Enix, the studio has taken the tough decision to push back the release of Forspoken. While the promising fantasy-themed IP was once aiming for an October release, PC and PS5 owners will now have to be patient a little longer until early January 2023.

Even though the delay of a big budget game like Forspoken in a Covid-impacted worldwon’t have shocked many onlookers, Luminous Productions’ project is surprising in a number of other ways. Aside from its ambitious features and status as a brand-new IP, how the game has come together behind the scenes is just as intriguing. The deal that’s been struck between Square Enix and Sony is of particular note, as it’s unique from most of the platform holder’s timed-exclusive deals.

Every Forspoken Character Revealed So Far

Considering how Forspoken was unveiled alongside the PS5 back in June 2020, it’s been clear for some time just how much Sony values the brand-new IP. Even before Square Enix and Luminous Productions were ready to unveil the game’s final name, Project Athia was a key part of Sony's attempts to get its latest console off and running from a publicity perspective. While it’s easy to hope that Forspoken’s potential and quality have influenced this process, the terms of the deal that it’s struck behind the scenes are likely a big driving factor as well.

After Luminous Productions had finished showing off Forspoken at last year’s Game Awards, one of the key aspects of Square Enix and Sony’s deal that reinforces this assertion was made public