Brink release date moved up a week

Splash Damage's class-based shooter will now launch a week earlier than was planned, having been completed sooner than expected.

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The release date of Splash Damage's class-based, objective-driven shooter Brink has been bumped forward by a week, publisher Bethesda Softworks announced today.

Brink was previously scheduled to launch on May 17 in North America but will now arrive on May 10. The European release will come in May 13. It'll hit PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

"Production wrapped on Brink earlier than we planned and we didn't see any reason to keep gamers from getting their hands on this highly anticipated game as soon as it was ready," said Pete Hines, Bethesda Softworks VP of PR and marketing, in the announcement. "It's apparent from the tremendous reaction so far that people are eager to jump online and play, and if we can make that happen earlier--we're going to."

Brink was initially slated to launch in spring 2010 but was then delayed into fall 2010, slipping yet again before being pinned down to its May 17, 2011 date.

Brink's new release date means it'll no longer launch on the same day as L.A. Noire and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. While these games are quite different, they're still all competing for a share of players' limited cash.

Check out our recent hands-on preview for more on Brink.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    April 11, 2011 9:30 AM

    Comment on Brink release date moved up a week, by Alice O'Connor.

    • reply
      April 11, 2011 9:32 AM

      Holy triple post batman!

    • reply
      April 11, 2011 9:32 AM

      Awesome.

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      April 11, 2011 10:46 AM

      Busy month and I usually stick to one game per month. So the question is, this or Witcher 2?

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        April 11, 2011 4:41 PM

        This- mp shooters are the most fun in the first week when everyone is getting up to speed, learning the maps/strategies. It's always harder to jump into em once everyone has settled into their patterns.

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      April 11, 2011 11:00 AM

      I can't recall the last time a gaming company did this, I wish more of them would do this when they know their product is ready for release. Can't wait to play this and now I won't have to wait much longer, thank you Bethesda!!

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        April 11, 2011 11:31 AM

        Products haven't been ready for release since the N64 era. I'm sure Brink will have some day-0 bugs that will have to be fixed, if there aren't any then I will be very surprised.

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        April 11, 2011 12:40 PM

        I recall this happening at some point not too long ago (maybe 08?) where it actually got pushed back after it got pulled forward beyond its original release date.

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        April 11, 2011 12:56 PM

        that's not really possible given that releasing a game is a lot more complicated than HEY ITS DONE COME GET IT!

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          April 11, 2011 1:07 PM

          Well, unless you're digital only.

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            April 11, 2011 1:10 PM

            i thought we were talking about this instance, though, or most big budget games at the least.

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            April 11, 2011 4:43 PM

            It's not really about when the game goes Gold anymore. Now that you have games with marketing budgets equal to their development budgets, release timing becomes critical.

    • reply
      April 11, 2011 11:01 AM

      This game is a year late and a week early, what the...

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      April 11, 2011 11:12 AM

      [deleted]

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      April 11, 2011 11:18 AM

      Wasn't May 10th Duke's old release date?

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      April 11, 2011 11:21 AM

      Surely this is a late April Fool's joke, moving up a date? Can't be true. Another sign of the pending apocalypse!

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      April 11, 2011 11:35 AM

      Fffuuuuuuuuuccckkkkkk yeeeessssssss

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      April 11, 2011 1:01 PM

      I love Splash Damage. In the past they have proven themselves as supporters of PC gamers and their respective game communities. However, I really hope SD finished production early rather than the publisher not wanting to have the same release date as a Rockstar game. Can't wait to see your new game, SD.

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        April 11, 2011 1:11 PM

        I really like them and think they deserve success. They were super unlucky with ET:QW because even though the game was great, it was released at the same time as TF2

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          April 11, 2011 1:57 PM

          That, and since Activision was the publisher, and COD:4 was being released the next month, COD4 got something like 10:1 ad budget.

          Then id turns around and says a big reason for working with bethesda was so they wouldn't be competing with their publisher.

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          April 11, 2011 8:53 PM

          I've been a fan of SD's work since Q3F mod days. I have mixed feelings about the smaller scale/scope of Brink, but I think they kept the core elements of Enemy Territory intact while presenting it in a way that will catch on with console gamers.

          We seem to be among the few that enjoyed ETQW, which I also felt was highly underrated and came out at a bad time. Hopefully Brink will be their first breakaway hit.

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          April 11, 2011 11:52 PM

          Good, I thought I was the only one that really liked ET:QW. It was a really solid game that I thought deserved more attention than it got.

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        April 11, 2011 1:12 PM

        I preordered on PC, but I'm worried that coop modes are going to become rare servers with high pings. Competitive is cool, but the low stress of cood suits me more these days.

        • reply
          April 11, 2011 1:16 PM

          or coop... cood is cool too...

    • reply
      April 11, 2011 1:15 PM

      Habbalaaghher! Log noggin eik!

    • reply
      April 11, 2011 3:59 PM

      Good News! This portals2 , Deus EX, and well L.A. Nore. Busy month I tells you...

      • reply
        April 11, 2011 4:21 PM

        Deus EX was delayed till Sept or Aug I thought.

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          April 11, 2011 5:23 PM

          My bad I jumped the gun on Deus EX game, just really pumped for that one....

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        April 11, 2011 4:30 PM

        Wasn't Deus Ex HR pushed back to the fall?

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        April 11, 2011 4:46 PM

        All the more important that they get this out there so people can get it before their disposable income fizzles on other games.

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      April 11, 2011 4:28 PM

      ANY chance of a demo on this? I think this game is gonna do really well?

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        April 11, 2011 5:58 PM

        [deleted]

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        April 11, 2011 9:11 PM

        Afraid they said no demo :( at least not before the game is out. Resource thing, the devs sounded a bit bummed about it.

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      April 11, 2011 4:48 PM

      mmmmm... I should be done with a lot of Portal 2 by then. I approve.

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      April 11, 2011 8:55 PM

      Can't bring myself to buy this one yet...

      I'm just scared it will be lost in the glut of MP shooters we have these days :/

      Doesn't help that my RL friends aren't very pumped about it :(

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      April 11, 2011 9:15 PM

      I'm so hyped for this, and this news is AWESOME. Man I hope this game catches on here.

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      April 11, 2011 11:57 PM

      With Crysis 2 and Homefront being released to mediocre reviews, the sooner Brink gets here the better -- if it's good. Could have a pretty good release, imo.

      • reply
        April 12, 2011 12:32 AM

        what medicore reviews for Crysis 2 are you talking about?

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      April 12, 2011 8:27 AM

      to me, Brink only serves as a reminder of The Crossing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhroZHTjNFw

      it looked awesome

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        April 12, 2011 1:19 PM

        right?? wtf happened to this game, man? i was so stoked about it. and then i used to think brink was the spiritual successor or something... hmm

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          April 12, 2011 1:33 PM

          according to wiki it was put on hold in 2009 when Arkane Studios ran into "an unexpected financial challenge", they were recently bought by ZeniMax Media, so I'd hope that "challenge" is out of the way by now and development was resumed, but who knows.

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      April 15, 2011 4:12 AM

      Well I get Brink early then!

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