The release of Battlefield Hardline has been pushed to 2015 so the game may be improved and expanded, development team DICE have announced.
Feedback from the game's beta release got DICE thinking about what else it could put in the game, said studio VP Karl Magnus Troedsson.
"The more we thought about these ideas, the more we knew we had to get them into the game you will all be playing," he said.
"However, there was only one problem. We would need more time. Time that we didn't have if we decided to move forward with launching in just a couple of months.
"We decided that the right thing to do was to take more time to ensure Hardline is the best, most innovative Battlefield experience we can give to you, our fans."
A later release will allow DICE to "evolve the cops and criminals fantasy into a truly unique Battlefield multiplayer experience", add depth to the game's singleplayer campaign, and optimise the game for a stable launch.
"We have learned a lot from Battlefield 4, are continuing to learn from our Community Test Environment and will learn more from another Hardline beta," said Troedsson.
"More time allows us to surface issues that the team can attempt to fix prior to launch."
"We are doing all of this for one reason. Because we want Battlefield Hardline to be the best game it can be, and so that we can create the best environment for a smooth launch for our players," he added.
"We will give you updates on our progress and we'll regularly share updates along the way via Battlefield.com/Hardline as well as the Battlefield social channels."
Troedsson was also keen to stress that DICE was still hard at work on Battlefield 4 as well.
"We remain committed to giving you the best BF4 experience possible," he said.
Battlefield Hardline was previously slated for an October 21 release date on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
- Gameplanet.co.nz