According to Microsoft's general manager of Microsoft Studios Global Publishing, Shannon Loftis, the recently delayed Crackdown 3 was probably announced prematurely.

　　Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox exclusive was delayed once more earlier this week. Initially slated for a release last year, the open-world action adventure from Reagent Games is now slated for a release next year. Website Polygon caught up with Loftis at Gamescom after which she admitted that the team clearly underestimated the game’s development. “I think we probably announced Crackdown too early,” the Microsoft executive told Polygon.

　　“We definitely underestimated the challenge of making sure the quality bar of all three of those modes was high and it delivers on what we need to deliver on,” she added. “So we had to take the extra time, [and] make sure that we’re delivering the game the Crackdown fans want. It was a super hard decision to do that, and it was made harder because we announced the game.”

　　An actual release date wasn’t provided, but Crackdown 3 is now scheduled for a spring 2018 release on Windows 10 PC and Xbox One (enhanced for the upcoming Xbox One X).

　　As said, the game would first release back in 2016, but was later delayed to 2017 to deliver the best possible experience. “Crackdown 3 is a game built for the future with a multiplayer experience that will redefine what it feels like to play games, and as we continue to work on this, it has become clear that our original timeline of delivering multiplayer to fans this summer, while maintaining the size, scope and quality of the game, would be challenging”, the game’s creative director, Dave Jones, said last year. “Our top priority is to give gamers an experience they have never seen before at a scale never thought possible, and sticking to our original timeline would have compromised that goal.”