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Metal Slug Tactics has been delayed to 2023

Dotemu and Leikir Studio are taking a bit more time to let Metal Slug Tactics stew in development and pushing the game to next year.

TJ Denzer

August 11, 2022 1:50 PM

Image via Dotemu

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Metal Slug Tactics is a much-anticipated take on the SNK run-and-gun arcade classic, bringing turn-based strategy to our heavy machineguns and rocket lawn chairs. Unfortunately, it looks like we’re going to be waiting quite a bit longer to see the game come to fruition. Publisher Dotemu and developer Leikir Studio have announced a delay on Metal Slug Tactics that will push the game out of its intended 2022 launch window and back into 2023.

Dotemu and Leikir announced the delay on Metal Slug Tactics via the Dotemu Twitter on August 11, 2022. According to the announcement, the team feels it needs more time to make sure the game is the best it can be before fans get to enjoy what they’ve put together.

“Marco, Eri, Fio, and Tarma are tinkering away to make Metal Slug Tactics as explosive as possible on release, but the squad needs a bit more time in the shop to prepare for the battles ahead. See you in 2023,” the tweet reads.

It’s far from the first time Dotemu has delayed a game. The excellent Windjammers 2 saw several delays before finally making it out to beloved praise by critics and players alike, including in its review here at Shacknews. If a Dotemu game needs more time in the oven, especially when it comes to a franchise as beloved as Metal Slug, we’re inclined to believe the publisher knows what level of polish it wants out of the game and will bring it. After all, Metal Slug Tactics was a complete surprise. Announced at Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest in 2021, it mixes the classic aesthetic and features of Metal Slug in turn-based strategic missions, allowing players to utilize familiar weapons and destructible terrain to gun down foes.

With Metal Slug Tactics pushed back into 2023, we’ll be waiting a bit longer to see how its turn-based strategy gameplay turns out. Stay tuned for more updates and a new release date here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.