Xbox Exclusive Shooter Crossfire X Delayed Into 2021

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Those looking for a new shooter to play on Xbox Series X/S this year must look at games other than CrossfireX, which was delayed into 2021 earlier this year. A joint effort between Remedy Entertainment and Smilegate, CrossfireX is an attempt to bring a wildly popular FPS franchise to the West for the first time. Players got a sneak peek at what was to come earlier this year in a multiplayer beta that showed off an interesting mixture of influences from both Counter-Strike and Call of Duty.

Existing players around the world already know and love this style, but the additional single-player mode is a new addition that completes the package. Created by the makers of Control, Alan Wake, and Quantum Break, the CrossfireX campaign is certainly a more down-to-earth subject matter than what Remedy is used to. Still, from what players have seen of the story mode, its time-slowing abilities and stated inspiration by such classics as Metal Gear Solid can only be seen as promising. It's another Xbox exclusive that Microsoft's console desperately needs at the moment, but players will have to wait a little bit longer before diving into the next game from Remedy.

As revealed in a tweet sent out earlier this week on Remedy's Twitter, CrossfireX is officially skipping its promised release date in 2020 and heading into 2021. The given reason is the COVID-19 pandemic, a global situation that has affected the ongoing development of countless games. Gamers have gotten used to a normal where games are delayed more often than not, and that will likely continue for months and months as developers continue to work outside of the office and try to deal with the logistics of remote development.

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Another reason for the delay might simply be the jam-packed release schedule in the last few months of 2020. Because of the numerous delays suffered across the industry, this winter has several open-world experiences from Ubisoft and CD Projekt Red's highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077. This doesn't even count the games that hit their mark and launched this holiday season, like Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Demon's Souls. A crowded environment like that is not the best place to establish a new brand, so the powers that be might have punted the release in order to have a better chance of having Crossfire catch on in America as it has elsewhere.

Whether due to a global pandemic or an infestation of new releases, Xbox fans will miss CrossfireX on their new Series X and Series S consoles. The launch of the console was highly successful from a logistics standpoint, and the new machines run the vast collection of available previous-gen Xbox games wonderfully. Still, it's hard to capture the zeitgeist without something that's a must-play, and no old game is going to accomplish that goal. At least Xbox now has a few games locked and loaded for next year in a genre that has always proven to perform well for fans of Microsoft's home console.

CrossfireX will be available for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One in 2021.