Microsoft’s Skulls of the Shogun is being delayed

Microsoft’s retro-inspired XBLA strategy game Skulls of the Shogun has been delayed, developer Haunted Temple Studios has confirmed.

AI lead Borut Pfeifer told GDC attendees today: “On the way to GDC our game actually got delayed. We were originally coming out around February,” adding that the slip is mostly down to “AI and bugs”.The game is being developed by a team formed by employees laid off from Electronic Arts’ Los Angeles studio following the completion of Command & Conquer 4.

“Microsoft totally got our vision and have been fully behind it ever since, and the support we’re getting out of them has been seriously as much as I could ever ask for,” studio founder and CVG chum Jake Kazdal told Gamasutra last year. “Our extended team is now more powerful than ever!”

According to Microsoft, Kazdal’s renowned industry experience – he worked on Rez, Space Channel 5 and EA’s canned Spielberg project LMNO – made the game an easy sign.

“This studio has kind of the best of both worlds. On the one hand, they practically personify the kind of DIY ethos and independent spirit that’s the hallmark of today’s most exciting developers,” Microsoft Studios’ Ted Woolsey, who directs first-party publishing on XBLA, told Gama.

“More than that though, it’s a studio made up of AAA veterans with incredible resumes. These guys know how to ship great games, and that’s huge.”

Skulls of the Shogun was nominated for the best strategy game at E3 2011 by a collective of US game critics.

Source: CVG