Remember Conan Chop Chop? It began life as an April Fools joke in 2019, but a couple months later Funcom announced that it was actually a real game that would be out in September of that year—a quick turnaround for a simple, silly game. But then it was delayed, to early 2020, so the development team could add online multiplayer.
Then it was delayed again, to slightly later in 2020. And then again, to an unspecified date, but still in 2020.
Now, with just 15 days remaining in 2020, it's happened yet again: Funcom announced today that the oft-delayed game is really and truly almost—but not quite—finished, and thus is now set to come out sometime in the first quarter of 2021.
To its credit, Funcom acknowledged in the delay announcement that the whole thing has turned into kind of a goat rodeo, but insisted that "this time we mean it for real." It also said that the scope of the game has increased considerably from the original plan, and it now supports local and online co-op play with an increased number of randomized events, traps, mini-bosses, and item combinations—which is why it's taking so long.
I think I'll be a bit sad when (if) Conan Chop Chop actually materializes as a real, playable game. It's no Duke Nukem Forever, but there's something magical about a quick gag game that spins so far out of control it ends up delayed as many times as Cyberpunk 2077. Call me sentimental if you will, but I'm going to feel a real sense of loss when that's gone.
Of course, there's not actually a release date yet, so anything can happen. While you wait to see how that shakes out, you can learn more about what will for sure (probably) become a playable game in 2021 on Steam or at conanchopchop.com.
