Koei-Tecmo has put out a message detailing some disappointing news forWarriorsfans looking forward toDynasty Warriors 9 Empires.
In a statement published on Twitter, the Japanese publisher outlined howDynasty Warriors 9 Empires’early 2021 release date is being pushed back to an as-of-yet unannounced date. The message, which was written by Omega Force, the long-standing developer of theWarriorsseries, didn’t specify any particular reasons behind the delay.
RELATED:Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is Getting an Expansion Pass
The message ended with offering a small “taste of what’s to come,” accompanied by an image fromDynasty Warriors 9 Empires’opening cinematic. The screenshot, showing returning characters Zhuge Liang, Chen Gong and Man Chong, shows thatDynasty Warriors 9 Empireswon’t be revamping the character designs from the base title, much like previousEmpiresinstallments.
WhileDynasty Warriors 9 Empireswas announced via teaserin September 2020, there has been little news since until today’s disappointing announcement. Omega Force is also working onSamurai Warriors 5,a title that has received better news in recent times.Samurai Warriors 5has had its release date confirmedrecently, putting it in a much better place at the moment than the seemingly troubled development of Omega Force’s newestDynasty Warriorsrelease.
Reception to the originalDynasty Warriors 9,released in 2018,was middling at best, especially compared to Omega Force’s recent offering withHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Themost recentHyrule Warriorstitle broke series recordsupon its release, doing especially well in the West, whereMusoutitles have always had less of a presence as compared to Japan. The innovation, and brand power, offered by theZelda-themedWarriorstitle have set it in a different league Koei-Tecmo’s upcoming releases. It’ll be a matter of time before it’s seen if Omega Force will take on board some of the positives from the newHyrule Warriorsinto its more traditional mainline releases as well.
While theEmpiresadditions are evidently successful enough to justify a secondary release from each installment’s parent title, it’s clear that Koei-Tecmo are putting the studio’s emphasis on the upcomingSamurai Warriorstitle overEmpires.TheEmpiresgames have a long history, with a lineage tracing back to 2004’sDynasty Warriors 4: Empires.There is a large stable of characters fromacross a wide array ofWarriorsgamesto draw upon as the title adds a strategy layer toDynasty Warriors 9’s base game - it’s just a shame that fans will be left waiting a while longer to get their hands on the title.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empiresis slated for release later in 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
