It wasn’t that long ago that we heard rumors of Ubisoft canceling Watch Dogs on the Wii U. The publisher denied the rumors and Nintendo fans could breathe easy once again. While it may not have been outright canceled, the publisher has now confirmed that Wii U owners are going to have to wait.
During Ubisoft’s quarterly earnings report today, the publisher confirmed that Watch Dogs would be launching between April and June (i.e. Q1) of this year for PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. The Wii U version, while not canceled, has been delayed to later in the year “to focus the team’s resources where they could have the broadest possible benefit.”
In other words, Ubisoft is taking developers off of the Wii U version to focus on the other versions of Watch Dogs. The publisher may have found itself spread a bit too thin on this one and decided to delay the least important version of the title to ensure the versions most likely to sell ship on time. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Nintendo fans, but it’s a compromise that will still see the game being released on the platform.
Here’s the full statement from Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot:
“Today we are specifying our targets for full-year 2013-14 and are confirming our target for non-IFRS operating income for 2014-15. Fiscal 2014-15 will see an exceptional games line-up, with the release of five major titles including Just Dance, The Crew and Watch Dogs, which is scheduled for release in the first fiscal quarter. Our line-up is also expected to reap the benefits of the return to growth in the console market and the increasingly significant impact of digital gaming.”
So, there you have it. Watch Dogs is still coming this Spring, but the Wii U version will be a little late to the party. Considering how much development time has been spent on the game already, it shouldn’t be that long before the Wii U version is released after the other versions.
[h/t: Game Informer] Image via Watch Dogs/YouTube