Developer Amplitude has announced that the console release of the Civilization-like strategy game Humankind has been postponed “indefinitely”.

Fans of console strategy games will have to wait for an alternative to Civilization, as Amplitude Studios has announced that the console version of their game Humankind has been postponed indefinitely. Although it’s been available on PC for over a year – we tested it at the end of the year – , it seems that the console version still needs a lot of work before Amplitude feels it’s ready for release.

Despite Humankind recently receiving an ESRB rating for Nintendo Switch, console gamers eager to try it out will have to wait a while.

It’s not yet known what the reasoning behind Amplitude Studios’ decision to postpone the game’s console release indefinitely. In a statement, the studio said that “we and our partner Aspyr Media have run into unexpected challenges in porting Humankind to consoles,” and that “we’re not in a position to give a timeframe on a new release date right now.” Amplitude will, of course, provide a refund to all those who pre-ordered Humankind.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time an Aspyr Media project has been delayed. The highly anticipated Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake was also delayed indefinitely before being handed over to a completely different studio. Although that was a much more ambitious project, Aspyr specializes in porting PC games to consoles, so it’s a good fit for the adaptation of Humankind to consoles.

Such delays are both worrying and reassuring.

On the one hand, they indicate that there are severe problems with the release; on the other hand, the extra time will allow them to be adequately addressed by the time it hits digital shelves. But sometimes, such “indefinite” delays can also mean the cancellation of a project.

In the meantime, gamers will have access to more excellent console strategy games as the genre moves away from the traditional PC-only market. Games such as Halo Wars, Civilization, Crusader Kings 3 and XCOM 2 are living proof that the strategy genre can thrive in the realm of couches and controllers.

Source: Humankind