Gab Hernandez 
THQ Nordic has delayed Alone in the Dark once again, pushing the game deeper into 2024.
Some video game studios have started to take the effects of crunch culture seriously. “Crunch” is the long-running phenomenon in game development where developers are in a prolonged scramble to meet deadlines, usually to ship a game or significant update. It’s something that’s been talked about regularly in recent years, and some studios are taking steps to address it.
THQ Nordic acknowledges this reality and stated that Alone in the Dark 2024 will be pushed back from its initial January 2024 release date to avoid a crunch through the holiday season. This will allow the team behind the game to have a more manageable time heading into the new year, though it will also see the game pushed back even further from its initial release date.
What is the new release date for Alone in the Dark 2024?
Alone in the Dark (2024) has been delayed to March 20, 2024.
This is the second delay that Alone in the Dark has faced in the past year. The first release date was set for October 25, 2023, but THQ Nordic says it decided against releasing around that time due to heavy competition.
October 2023 also saw the releases of Spider-Man 2, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Alan Wake 2. Those three games have since become Game of the Year Award contenders. This was preceded by several major releases in August and September including Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, Madden 24, Mortal Kombat 1, Lies of P, Starfield, and Baldur’s Gate 3.
THQ Nordic said it didn’t want any part in the chaotic scramble of autumn releases, but the consecutive delays suggest that Alone in the Dark will benefit from the extra time in development regardless. Of course, the second release date of January 2024 also had a few notable releases to contend with.
What games are coming out in January 2024?
Tekken 8, The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown are among the games coming out in January 2024.
While none of those titles are horror, they were still major franchises for Alone in the Dark to go up against. Even so, it likely would have done well for itself. The success of horror titles such as Dead Space Remake in January 2023 proves that.
That said, March 2023 was the release month of another iconic horror franchise, Resident Evil 4. The team behind Alone in the Dark 2024 will be hoping to pull off the same kind of success as its fellow horror classics did in the first quarter of 2023.
