"A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad." You’ve seen it. It’s on every gaming forum, Twitter thread, and Reddit sub whenever a triple-A title misses its launch window. Shigeru Miyamoto—the legendary mind behind Mario and Zelda—supposedly said it decades ago. It’s become the ultimate "get out of jail free" card for developers. But honestly? In 2026, that sentiment is under more pressure than ever.
The industry has changed. Games aren't just plastic cartridges anymore; they're living services, massive patches, and "fix it in post" digital files. Yet, the core truth remains. When a studio decides to push back a release date, they aren't just dodging a PR nightmare. They're often saving the soul of the project.
The legend of the quote and why we still believe it
Miyamoto actually said this back in the 90s, likely during the development of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. That game was delayed multiple times. Fans were furious. Then it launched, and it basically redefined 3D adventure games forever. It worked.
But we have to be real here: the quote is a bit of an oversimplification.
A delay doesn't automatically inject quality into a disc. It just buys time. Sometimes that time is spent fixing bugs. Sometimes it’s spent "finding the fun" because the core mechanics feel like sandpaper. We cling to the idea that a delayed game is eventually good because the alternative is heartbreaking. Nobody wants to spend $70 on a broken mess that feels like a chore.
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Look at Cyberpunk 2077. This is the most polarizing example in modern history. It was delayed. Then it was delayed again. Then it launched in 2020 and... well, it was a disaster on consoles. It took nearly three years, a massive expansion called Phantom Liberty, and a total overhaul of the police and skill systems to make it the masterpiece people wanted.
Technically, it was a "rushed" game that was eventually good. It breaks Miyamoto's rule.
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However, compare that to Elden Ring. FromSoftware pushed it back by a few months. Just a few. That tiny window allowed for the level of polish that resulted in a Game of the Year sweep. They didn't need to rebuild the engine; they just needed to breathe. When a studio like Rockstar delays GTA VI, the internet groans, but deep down? We’re relieved. We know that extra year means the difference between a glitchy sandbox and a world that feels alive.
The dark side of the "eventually good" philosophy
Sometimes, delays are a symptom of "Development Hell."
Take Duke Nukem Forever. It was delayed for over a decade. It wasn't eventually good. It was a dated, confusing relic of a bygone era. Or Skull and Bones, which spent years in a cycle of reboots and delays only to launch to a lukewarm reception.
You can’t just bake a cake forever. Eventually, the ingredients get stale.
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The "rushed game is forever bad" part of the quote is also losing its teeth. In the age of No Man's Sky, "forever" is a long time. Hello Games proved that you can launch a skeleton of a game and, through years of free updates, turn it into one of the best space sims ever made. But at what cost? The developers faced death threats. The studio's reputation was in the gutter for years.
Why developers choose the delay
- Burnout prevention: Crunch is real. A delay can—sometimes—ease the pressure on the staff.
- Technical debt: New hardware like the PS5 Pro or the latest PC GPUs require optimization that wasn't planned for three years ago.
- Market timing: Sometimes you just don't want to launch the same week as Call of Duty.
- The "Game Feel" factor: If the jumping doesn't feel right in a platformer, the whole game fails.
It's about the "Polish Phase." Most games are actually "content complete" months before they come out. The delay is for the invisible stuff. The lighting transitions. The way the AI reacts to a player hiding in a bush. The crashes that only happen after four hours of continuous play.
What most people get wrong about game delays
People think a delay means the team is lazy. It’s usually the opposite. It means the team is working 12-hour shifts trying to justify the delay to their shareholders.
Investors hate delays.
When a company like Ubisoft or EA pushes a title back, their stock price often takes a hit. They aren't doing it for fun. They're doing it because they know that a "Metacritic" score below an 80 is a death sentence for sales in the long run. They’ve crunched the numbers. They know that a delayed game is eventually good is a better financial bet than a broken launch that gets refunded by millions of players.
How to manage your expectations as a gamer
It sucks when you’ve cleared your calendar for a big release and then—boom—the "yellow screen of death" (as CDPR fans call those delay announcements) hits Twitter.
But honestly? You've gotta embrace it.
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Check your backlog. There are too many games anyway. When you see a delay, don't see it as a failure of the developers. See it as a sign that someone in leadership actually cared enough about the product to fight the accountants. That’s a rare thing in this industry.
Actionable takeaways for the savvy player
- Never pre-order based on a CGI trailer. Wait for the "Gold" announcement, which means the game is actually being pressed to discs.
- Follow the lead designers on social media. You can often sense the vibe of a project. If they’re excited and posting art, things are usually okay. If it’s radio silence for six months, expect a delay.
- Trust the track record. Studios like Nintendo, Rockstar, and FromSoftware have earned the right to delay games because they've proven the end result justifies the wait.
- Ignore the "Release Window" until there's a specific day. "Spring 2026" basically means "Autumn 2026" in developer-speak.
The reality is that we are playing the most complex pieces of software ever written. A modern game has more lines of code than a space shuttle. It’s a miracle they work at all. So, the next time a game you’re hyped for gets moved back six months, take a breath. It’s better to play a masterpiece in November than a mess in May.
Quality is the only thing that lasts. Everything else is just marketing noise. Focus on the developers who respect your time enough to wait until the game is actually ready for your hands.