The King of Fighters XV producer, Yasuyuki Oda, has announced a delay in the release date of the upcoming fighting game.

While originally slated for 2021, Oda explains in a statement that “The development timeline we set out to reach in the beginning has been affected by the ever-still rising cases of COVID-19 within Japan. We have made the ultimate decision in the end that the product’s quality must come first, and so with that decision comes an altered release window.”

“We sincerely ask for your kind patience and understanding as our development teams continue to work hard on KOF XV as we draw closer to its release.” The King of Fighters XV launches in the first quarter of 2022. Platforms have not been confirmed at this time. We shall keep you informed as we learn more.

As previously reported at the game’s announcement, the game is currently being optimized, with certain features being “brushed up.” An animated promotional short by Masami Obari (the 1990s Fatal Fury movies) is set to be released soon.

In case you missed it, we also covered the previous trailers for Yoshio Nanase, Shun’ei, Meitenkun, Benimaru, Iori Yagami, Joe Higashi, Kyo Kusanagi, Chizuru Kagura,, Andy Bogard, Yuri Sakazaki, Terry Bogard, Yashio Nanakase, King, Mai Shiranui, Chris, Ryo Sakazaki, Robert Garcia, Leona Heidern, Ralf Jones, Clark Still, and Blue Mary.

While delayed, we may still get to see gameplay or other reveals during this year’s EVO 2021 Online, acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in March of this year. In recent news, the Evo Community Series’ PlayStation 4 Tournaments were announced.