It has been a whopping three years since we first heard about Earthblade, the 2D "explor-action" game from Celeste developer Extremely OK Games. This pretty pixel art platformer was given a 2024 release window back in late 2022, but now, it seems, things are going to be pushed back a little as the developers have announced a delay.
The news came in the form of a blog post from Extremely OK Games' R&D Director, Maddy Thorson, in which she thanked fans for their continued support of the project, but confirmed that "this game ain't coming out in 2024".
Thorson wrote that the delay is a product of workload management and team growth as well as the challenges of her personal life, including her gender transition.
While a new date was not confirmed in the post, the message that the game is "not stagnant" rings loud and clear. Extremely OK Games is still actively working on Earthblade, and has recently brought on Kyle Pulver (who previously worked on Offspring Fling, Super Meat Boy Forever and other titles) as a new game designer. "He's identifying our vision and the problems preventing the game from living up to it," Thorson wrote, "Plus his fresh eyes have inspired all of us to see things anew".
You can find Thorson's full message on the Extremely OK Games website or by following the link in the above tweet.
It's never nice to hear about a game delay, but we would always rather see something pushed back and released in tip-top condition than rushed out without adequate testing time. We will be keeping an eye out for Earthblade updates over the coming months, with fingers crossed for a 2025 release date.