If you’re wondering why that game you were looking forward to was delayed, check if the company making it is publicly traded.
As someone who likes playing games sooner rather than later, delays are a double-edged sword. I know that a game being delayed means it’s going to be better when it eventually releases, but, being a bit childish, I want to play it now. I don’t believe those feelings on the part of consumers matter, though. Sure, every statement about a game being delayed will come with a line from whatever developer saying, “we love you, the fans, and appreciate your patience,” but in reality, your patience isn’t worth jack. What’s much more valuable, and tangibly so, are stock prices, which have now joined the growing group of reasons why so many games are being delayed. Naturally, stocks aren’t the main reason — we’re in a very shaky recovery from a yearlong pandemic that has fundamentally changed workplaces, after all — but it’s hard to ignore the effect that a game’s delay, or even worse, poor release, can have on a company’s overall value. Let’s go back to Wednesday, September 15, for a moment. It was a genuinely slow news day, save for rumors that Battlefield 2042 was going to be delayed (which it eventually was) from VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb. Those rumors alone (and the apparent weight that Grubb’s word carries) set off a slide in EA’s stocks. On September 14, EA’s day ended with its stock being worth $145 a share, but by 10 a.m. ET the following morning, they had dropped to $136. It doesn’t seem like a massive loss, just $9, but if you had thousands upon thousands of shares, you just lost a lot of money.
