After several weeks of denying reports that Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II had been delayed, Interplay confirmed today that the game's release has been postponed until 2004. In the footnotes to a cheery press release, an Interplay spokesperson said that "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (PS2 and Xbox) is currently slated for release this January."

　　Originally set to come out for the holidays, Dark Alliance II was to be one of Interplay's biggest titles of 2003. However, an ugly legal battle with publisher VU Games sent the fantasy RPG and its sci-fi cousin, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, into release limbo. After the two companies reconciled and reinstated their distribution deal late last week, many expected both titles to ship this year after all. Today's announcement may again call Fallout:BoS's release date into question, even though the game went gold nearly three weeks ago. Inquiries to VU Games were directed to Interplay, who had not responded at press time.

　　Interplay did give those looking forward to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II a (very) small something for their yuletide stocking--over 25 new character and screenshots for both the PS2 and the Xbox.