Outriders is a promising third-person shooter being developed by People Can Fly. They’ve shown off quite a bit of the game and its looting designs leading up to its projected December release.

From extended sessions of gameplay to breakdowns of character classes, the developer has kept the buzz going strong this year. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Outriders will release by the end of 2020.

Square Enix — the game’s publisher — broke the news a couple of days ago. In effort to provide cross-play support and additional features, the original December 2020 release window is being pushed back until February 2021.

That’s a couple of months later that fans will have to wait to get in on the drop-in, co-op shooter action. It’s not what fans probably want to hear, but given how 2020 has shaped out thus far, it’s to be expected at this point.

So many studios are having to shuffle things around just to get their bearings heading into the new year. And if it means Outriders will play a lot better and have more worthwhile features, maybe the wait is worth it in the end.

The cross-play feature sounds great on paper. This game puts a heavy emphasis on party play so the fact that gamers on different consoles can play together should open up things by a lot.

Even for those that plan on going at the mysterious planet known as Enoch alone, there seems like plenty to see and do in this shooter. The dark settings teeming in atmosphere seem particularly unique and give this shooter a unique identity right out of the gate.

The progression that players will experience also seems very promising. Throughout your battles with unwaivering threats, you’ll get to upgrade your character’s weapons and resources. There are different skill trees you can unlock as well depending on how you want to approach this hybrid shooter.

Additionally, the elemental powers shown in a couple of the trailers thus far look particularly brutal. They give Outriders a distinct feel as players get to mix in some bullets with memorable elemental strikes.

It’s unfortunate that this game isn’t coming out by the end of the near, but February really isn’t that bad. It could have been a lot worse and at least the developer has good reason. They want to refine what they already have and add more noteworthy features that get players excited about this game’s future.