No Man's Sky Release Date Possibly Delayed

Space exploration game No Man's Sky is possibly delayed. While Sony has not confirmed it yet, sources speaking to gaming blog Kotaku have. Apparently you'll be able to get your hands on the hotly awaited sci-fi spectacle in July or August.

"A reliable Kotaku source was the first to inform us of the delay. A second source, who works at GameStop, said they received marketing materials today for No Man's Sky with the original June 21 release date [June 22 in Europe and India]," a post on the site reads. "However, stores were informed that the release date is no longer correct and that they should cover it up with a "Coming Soon" label."

(Also see: No Man's Sky Release Date, Price, Limited Editions Revealed for PS4 and PC)

We wonder how last minute this delay is. Up until late last week, Sony India was in talks with various retailers and sub distributors in the country to get an idea of what quantity of the game should be brought in. Needless to say, most game stores here are bearish of the prospects of anything that's not significantly popular like FIFA or Uncharted.

"I haven't heard anything from Sony yet regarding a delay," a store manager for one of Mumbai's bigger game stores tells us. "To be honest, I'm not even placing that large a quantity either. My team is not convinced it is something that will sell beyond day one. More so since Sony is not letting me take pre-orders."

The lack of pre-orders for India is somewhat of a concern. Many a retailer feels that in order to push a new IP like No Man's Sky, an extensive pre-release campaign is necessary. But when Sony already has pre-orders for the game digitally on its own storefront for Rs. 3,499 versus Rs. 3,999 at local retail, it's obvious to see where its focus lies.

Right now, there's no indication if this delay could impact the PC version of the game that's available for pre-purchase on Steam at the moment.

We reached out to Sony India for comment and will update this if we hear back. Given Kotaku's track record, we won't be surprised to see an official announcement from Sony regarding No Man's Sky delay soon enough.