The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic has forced game developers large and small to work remotely, affecting many games and major updates in development Bethesda has had to delay testing due to telecommuting, Fallout 76 Wastelanders major update had to be delayed (though it has now been released), and Amazon's New World MMO, Path of Exile 2 beta, and the upcoming Rainbow Six Siege update are also facing delays.

The effects of social distance in the workplace have also affected Larian Studios, which is currently working on Baldur's Gate 3. Larian boss Swen Vincke told the New York Times that the game is on track for an Early Access release this year.

"We're working on the first game," Vincke said in an interview with the New York Times, "but we also admitted that work has been slow.

"The first week went really well," he said. 'Everyone had all the information they needed, so we were able to work smoothly at home.'

However, as the process dragged on, challenges began to pile up as employees were forced to make longer-term schedule adjustments and outside partners involved in the game made similar changes.

"Stress on the leads began to increase in terms of communication. This is because they are trying to solve problems, sort things out, and give direction.

An even bigger potential problem for some games, including "Baldur's Gate 3," is that aspects of development such as motion capture are not possible with remote work. to return to the studio, but at this point "there is no solution."

For now, Larian is still running at 70-80 percent of normal productivity, and no release date has been announced yet, but Vincke said "Baldur's Gate 3" is moving toward 2020. 'Development is progressing,' he said. 'It's just that development has been delayed.'

The unfortunate irony of this is that the need for self-isolation brought on by the COVID-19 debacle has quickly boosted demand for video games. This is evident in Steam, where the number of concurrent users on Steam topped 20 million for the first time only a month ago, and 22 million a week later.

The loss of disposable income from going out of business is also a downside, especially for smaller indie developers: Josh Regan, developer of the upcoming strategy game Warborn, noted in the same report that large game delays can raise the profile of an indie project While they may trigger a boost, he said, their impact will be blunted if people don't have the money to spend on them.

Thanks, PCGamesN.