Terminator: Survivors has been hit with another delay, this time indefinitely, with a statement also announcing that the overall mechanics of the game will be changing too. Originally planned to have cooperative multiplayer, the game will now be entirely single player, and early access plans have been scrapped in favor of a full release.

Terminator: Survivors was initially announced in 2022, with a planned 2024 release, but was subsequently delayed until 2025. The game takes place after Judgment Day, but prior to the arrival of John Connor, in a bleak, open-world wasteland in which players will have to survive. They’ll be key to forming the initial Resistance in a Skynet-ravaged world, while the company’s first prototypes patrol the land and attempt to stamp out what remains of humanity.

In the statement by Marco Ponte, the game’s creative director, he stated that, “We came to the conclusion that to give you an authentic ‘Terminator’ experience with the best possible shooting and exploration gameplay, we would have to put aside the cooperative multiplayer. We know this may come as a disappointment, but we believe it is the right creative direction for an uncompromising vision of the world after Judgment Day.” The team decided to scrap an early access phase for similar quality reasons, with Ponte stating, “We want your first steps into the wasteland to be a complete and polished experience.”

Though early access has been canceled, several playtests are still planned for the game, which players can register for on the Nacon website. As for whether the game will arrive in 2026, it seems unlikely, but not impossible. According to Ponte, they “don’t have a new date locked in” as of right now, but plan to keep players abreast of the situation as it evolves. Though this delay and related major changes to Terminator: Survivors have likely disappointed many players, it’s arguably always better to delay a game rather than release a buggy, unfinished one.