It's been a rough few months for gaming fans.
And now 2021 has got off to a tricky start as the eagerly anticipated Harry Potter title Hogwarts Legacy has had it's release pushed back to 2022!
But with COVID-related issues affecting many game developers, could it spell the start of a slippery slope for 2021's major releases?
Hogwarts Legacy Delayed
The devestating news that Hogwarts Legacy has been delayed until 2022 was confirmed on the titles offical Twitter account on Wednesday.
The offical reasoning behind the delay has yet to be confirmed, with the statement citing their need to create 'the best possible experience for all of the Wizarding World and gaming fans.'
It's not the first title to be hit by delays during these trying times, and we doubt it will be the last.
Halo Infinite & Hellblade 2
Two more titles that we are worried for are Halo Infinite and Hellblade 2.
We've already seen a COVID-related delay for Halo Infinite, which was originally scheduled for release back in November, and is now due for release around Autumn 2021.
But with Coronavirus still rife all around the world, don't be suprised to see 343 Industries push the release of their Xbox exclusive title even futher back.
As for Hellblade 2, we still don't have a definite release date, which concerns us greatly.
Another Xbox Studios Release, the Hellblade sequel saw little to no screen time at Xbox's July event, which leads us to believe that there was likely issues with the development back in the summer time.
We know the game was due to arrive in 2021, but with no release date revealed and the year now in full flow, we believe that this is another title that could be pushed back a further 12 months.
Cyberpunk 2077
There is one, crystal clear reason as to why so many games are being delayed, and that is the Cyperpunk 2077 saga.
The CD Projekt title was another that was pushed back due to production issues, but it seemed as though the delay wasn't quite long enough as the highly anticipated title flopped massively upon release due to a number of 'underestimated difficulties'.
Although we are still hopeful for a Rocky Balboa-esque comeback!
We're hoping that we won't see too many more delays this year, but one thing that is for sure, we'd sooner wait a little longer then have to live with another gargantuan dissapointment like 2077!