The Alone in the Dark reboot is delayed until March so developers can 'avoid any potential crunch over the Christmas holidays'
The planned launch in January "would have been filled with stress."
THQ Nordic's Alone in the Dark reboot has been delayed, and is now set to come out on March 20, 2024. The decision to push the game back was made, the publisher said, because if it had gone ahead with the planned release in January, "the Christmas season would have been filled with stress and anything but a jolly time" for developer Pieces Interactive.
"The well-being of the teams is a top priority, and both companies want to avoid any potential crunch over the Christmas holidays," THQ Nordic said. "Furthermore, THQ Nordic and Pieces Interactive want to ensure that the game not only meets but exceeds the expectations of the community, especially with the outstanding performances of Hollywood stars David and Jodie as the main protagonists."
This is actually the second delay for Alone in the Dark. It had been set to come out in October of this year, but in September it was moved to January 16, 2024, "to ensure a breathtaking experience for everyone."
It might just be. Alone in the Dark is a survival horror series that dates back to the early 1990s, and while recent entries haven't impressed—the 2015 reboot Alone in the Dark: Illumination holds a 19/100 score on Metacritic—THQ Nordic and Pieces Interactive appear to be taking the effort seriously.
The new game stars award-winning actors David Harbour and Jodie Comer, and even better it features an original story written by Mikael Hedberg, a veteran of famed horrorsmiths Frictional Games, whose past credits include Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: Rebirth, and the brilliantly twisted Soma. With a little bit of luck, that could add up to an unexpectedly good survival-horror experience, and most AITD fans on social media seem happier to wait than have it rushed.
Alone in the Dark will be available for PC on Steam and GOG. While you wait for March to roll around, the free Alone in the Dark Prologue remains playable on Steam.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.