Highly Anticipated Indie Earthblade Hit With Huge Delay

gamerant.com:

Earthblade, the next project from the team behind the indie darling Celeste, has been delayed. The highly anticipated title was first unveiled to the public in early 2021.

Much like the previous work of the talented folks over at Extremely OK Games, Earthblade is a 2D platformer with a pixel art style. Unlike Celeste, however, the Canadian studio's next release is a Metroidvania that will provide players with a lot of opportunities to explore. Fans of the sub-genre will unfortunately have to wait longer before they can get their hands on Earthblade, as Extremely OK Games has just revealed that the title has been delayed.

Earthblade will not launch in 2024, Extremely OK Games announced. The company had hoped to announce a firm release date for the upcoming title around this time, but that is unlikely to happen anymore, according to founder and director Madeline Thorson. Extremely OK Games encountered setbacks while working on Earthblade, according to Thorson, whose previous project, Celeste, is widely considered to be one of the best indie platformers of all time.

Extremely OK Games did note that it was still making progress on Earthblade, adding that the team members still believed in the project and in each other despite the setbacks. The studio also revealed that it has been joined by veteran indie game developer Kyle Pulver, who has provided the company with some big ideas and identified problems that prevented Earthblade from living up to Extremely OK Games' vision.

Thorson revealed that her studio added Pulver into its ranks following the realization that she had become a bottleneck. The Extremely OK Games founder said she struggled to keep up with her workload and provide a strong direction for the team while navigating all the challenges of her personal life. The reaction toward the announcement of Earthblade's delay was mostly positive, with many fans expressing their gratitude for being provided with an update on the game. Others also told Extremely OK Games,