About the Avatar Legends Delay...

At this point, you've probably heard the news already. Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game has been delayed and is now releasing on July 23, with an additional closed beta for people who pre-ordered the game happening from July 2 to July 5. After a few days of processing, I have decided that this announcement is almost nothing to worry about; let me explain.

First off, a delay this short and the wording of the announcement means the content promised is likely finished and the game is only being delayed to optimize performance. Additionally, this means more time for the team behind the game to reveal more content. Ozai and Zaheer have yet to be showcased, as well as the story mode. Much has been promised for the latter; a unique timeline-colliding narrative within the Avatar-franchise could make for one of the best stories a fighting game has ever told, but we have yet to see any of it. The game's marketing thus far has been focused on the competitive multiplayer aspect of the game, and rightfully so, but the Avatar franchise appeals to plenty of people outside of that sphere who have yet to be served a reason for purchasing the game. More casual players would have an immense interest in an Avatar fighting game that comes equipped with a playable narrative experience for them to enjoy. Luckily, a developer on twitter has stated that more in that regard may be revealed later this week, so maybe I have nothing to worry about.

Nothing except the looming spectre of competition, that is. Marvel TOKON: Fighting Souls, a new 4v4 tag-team fighting game by Arc-System Works and Sony is releasing on August 6. Of course, this is a completely different game, but they share an overall genre and appeal among the competitive and content-creator crowds the developers have been marketing the game towards. I've personally already observed discussions over which game to buy online that have only been happening more since the delay was announced. Now, I don't think this is going to be too big of a deal for most people, but some content creators in particular might find themselves having to decide between covering one or the other, a battle Avatar Legends is bound to lose. Avatar is popular, but not close to competing with Marvel in that arena and now they might have to. Again, I don't think this will spell doom for the game on arrival or anything, but it might hurt it more now that it does not have a full month to hook people in before the next big thing happens. 

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