Prison Architect 2 has been postponed again. We have seen this upcoming management game postponed before due to "new technical challenges" that justify developers spending more time on stability testing. This time, however, the problem is more pronounced.

"Our ongoing internal review and beta testing groups have highlighted areas that we need to focus more on, primarily performance and content. We need to improve the quality a bit more to meet the standards we hope to achieve with this sequel."

However, Paradox also confirmed that it "cannot commit to a new release date" as publisher and developer Kokku seems to be back to square one for the time being: "Over the next few months we will focus on improving the game and building a more robust release schedule. In the coming months we will focus on improving the game and building a more robust release schedule.

Seeing how badly Cities.Skylines.2 was received by players, it makes sense that Paradox would be a bit wary of releasing an unfinished or buggy game: Cities: Skylines 2 was poorly received by players and many players have reported suffering from performance problems. The developer, Colossal Order, even warned players before the game's release that it did not meet its own benchmark tests. This poor start to Cities: Cities: Skylines 2 continued to plague players even after launch, and even the first post-launch DLC, Beach Properties, infuriated players.

"Switching to 3D, multiple floors, and a new behavior system all add a new dimension to the game and open up new gameplay possibilities for players. But we want to make sure the game lives up to the legacy of the franchise and that it is released to the satisfaction of both players and the Prison Architect 2 team at Kokku and Paradox Interactive."

Unfortunately, it is unclear how long it will take new developer Kokku to get everything in order. The Prison Architect 2 team has stated that, "With this indefinite postponement, pre-orders for all platforms will be refunded and pre-ordered items will be added to the base game. An indefinite postponement is never a good thing, but it is especially worrisome given Paradox's recent penchant for digging early graves for its games.

A few months ago, the developers of "Life by You," a competitor to "The Sims," "suffered a setback" when Paradox announced that the game would not be released, even though it was essentially complete. Hours after this announcement came the news that Paradox had decided to close the 24-person studio that was in charge of developing Life By You.

I sincerely hope Prison Architect 2 does not suffer a similar fate. From what we've seen so far, the sequel could be something really special, and the choice to go 3D is interesting in that it will give players a more detailed building system. And it will be interesting to see how the smarter inmates will affect the justly chaotic storyline. While there is nothing wrong with taking the time to improve the game and ensure that the final output is of the highest quality possible, these delays and developer changes do not reassure me that history will not repeat itself.