As video game companies work tirelessly to hit release dates, they try to keep important news and development updates close to the vest until it is ready to release through official channels. Doing so controls the narrative of the game pre-release. But sometimes, information that companies were not ready toreveal game leaks, and they are left scrambling out public relations statements to refute or confirm leaked details. The most recent leak pertains to the game often referred to as “SovietBioshock” inAtomic Heart.
There was an article on the Xbox Game Pass Poland site that claimed they had a source withinAtomic Heartdeveloper Mundfish games. The source claims that someone within the developer told them that Mundfish was aiming for a 2022 release. Because of a work stoppage at the studio,Atomic Heartcould see its release movedfrom October-December 2022 and would instead release in January-March 2023. The Polish site added a screenshot of a conversation with their source that claimed that a delay was imminent. Russia-based Mundfish Studios are rumored to have had a pause in development at the outbreak of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the complications of global sanctions.
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As that story began to gain traction withvideo games insider Nibelliontweeting out this report late Wednesday morning, Mundfish refuted the claims. Mundfish responded by saying thatAtomic Heartwas still on target for 2022 and it questioned the validity of the source, claiming they had no offices in Poland nor any ties to the country. The Xbox Game Pass Poland site updated its article with Mundfish’s denial.
The validity of the initial conversation is called into question because it is based on a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation with a person claiming to be in the know at Mundfish. The WhatsApp screenshot that contains no identifying information serves to protect the source but also gives nothing that could verify that the source is who they say they are, their relation to Mundfish andAtomic Heart, or that the information given is accurate. The Xbox Game Pass Poland article also states that after they got into some heavier questioning, the informant stopped replying.
It’s not a far reach to believe that the Russia-based Mundfish would have been by affected by the sanctions. They could affect everything from development to marketing depending on if the company had staff outside of Russia and the complications of paying them with the country frozen out of global commerce. Even as Mundfish developers have refuted the claims, the game’s website does not have a set date on it either, and it can still be delayed later. It presumably has until theXbox and Bethesda Games Showcasenext week to either pin down a release date or announce the delay.
Atomic Heartis currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
MORE:Atomic Heart Has Come a Long Way Since It Was First Revealed
