The studio had been targeting April as a release window for the engine update, but evidently things haven’t progressed fast enough for this to happen. As explained by community manager Daniel Nixon, everything in the game has to be rechecked under the new engine, and the studio has now opted not to state a actual date for the update. Instead, IllFonic will simply patch in the new engine when everything is ready as opposed to rushing to meet a tangible deadline. For their part, Nixon and the rest of the studio had stated April was a “best case scenario,” making it clear from the beginning that an April release might not be attainable.
Gamers can take their first look at the new engine for Friday the 13th below:
The studio announced that it would be forgoing its regular technical updates several months ago until it completed work on its dedicated servers, a feat which requires the game’s entire engine to be massively reconfigured. While some fans had understandably hoped for a surprise update on Friday, April 13, it looks like there’s plenty of more waiting in store for fans of Jason Voorhees.
The reaction to the engine update has been mixed in the fanbase, with many Reddit users stating that it just looks like scenes got darker, which is technically true. Nixon reaffirmed that there were many technical tweaks going on behind the scenes, and that the update was more than just the engine overall: the upcoming patch will also include AI improvements, Victoria Sterling, the Part 7 Jason Rework, single player challenges, a finalized version of the Salt Mines update that pokes fun at quitters, and plenty of more fixes and improvements.
Fans of the game have been accustomed to getting smaller-sized updates on a bimonthly basis, so they’ll be hoping the massive engine update is worth the wait.
Friday the 13th: The Game is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
