Strayfirst caught the attention of gamers when it was revealed as a PlayStation exclusive during 2020’s E3-that-was-not-to-be. Slated as the inaugural effort of BlueTwelve Studio,Strayseeks to place players in the paws of a cat exploring a forgotten, potentially subterranean cyberpunk city populated by humanoid robots. It’s a unique premise, but continual delays seemed to plague the project, though new info stemming from South Korea’s Game Rating and Administration Committee may suggest a forthcoming release date reveal.
As surmised by Gematsu for those who don’t speak Korean,Strayhas been given a rating by the GRAC, and many seem optimistic that the title will not endure any further delays.Intel from early 2021 suggested that the game would likely release within a year, but that window of time has since passed. Additionally, a gameplay trailer released in July 2021 announced thatStraywould likely release at some point in early 2022, but that, too, has gone by with hardly any news from the developer.
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While this is far from a complete confirmation, it does at least suggest thatStrayis still in the works and likely in the very final stages of development. Game delays, of course, have been routine occurrences over the past two years; the Covid-19 outbreak added an extra layer of stress to the already-convoluted development routines of most studios, anda GDC survey discovered that as many as 44 percent of studios had to delay games as a result of the pandemic. It’s unknown if Covid-19 played a major part inStray’s apparent development struggles, though it certainly wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.
Despite the delay and apparent lack of communication from the developer,Straylooks to be something to which Sony fans ought to pay attention. WhileSony had many promising PlayStation-exclusive projects in development in 2021 and 2022, some of them,Babylon’s FallandGran Turismo 7, in particular—failed to pan out, and even the laudedHorizon Forbidden Westwas stopped short of stealing the spotlight amidst stiff competition in the form ofDying Light 2andElden Ring. Should it release in the near future,Straycould be a unique PS5 mainstay capable of turning heads as innovative games such asJourneyandTearawayhad done for the PS3 and PS Vita in the past.
According to January 2022 sales statistics,Sony’s PS5 console continues to fly off the shelves, already outselling Nintendo’s notoriously-lackluster Wii U by roughly five million units. Sony obviously doesn’t need to rely onStraybeing a huge success, but it would nevertheless be a fantastic game to see added to the console’s summer 2022 lineup.
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