Pragmata has been something of a mystery. Given the situation surrounding its release date, many have assumed that Pragmata is going through development hell. Pragmata plans to bring over something fresh to the table with its unique art design and gameplay concepts. However, things are not running smoothly for the new IP.
Originally announced all the way back in 2020, Pragmata impressed everyone with its intentionally ominous setting and a cinematic trailer that raised more questions than answers along with visuals that felt like a true showcase of next-gen console power. It was initially set to release sometime in 2022, but now jump to the present, there are no signs of its release as we are well into 2024. To that end, we ask the question – what the hell is exactly going on with Pragmata?
To recap on all events related to the game, Pragmata debuted with a trailer that didn’t have much to show except the odd visuals, an astronaut and a little girl who will probably play a vital role in the story. We didn’t have much information about what exactly the game would entail, how the gameplay would be laid out, or what to expect from Pragmata going forward. There was quite the excitement surrounding this seemingly fresh IP, and fans were understandably eager to see what was in store.
After that original trailer, we got the news that the release would be delayed to 2023 along with some new artwork. With regards to the said delay, the developer stated: “Our team is hard at work on the project, but to ensure this will be an unforgettable adventure, we’ve decided to shift the release window to 2023.” Pragmata re-surfaced last year with a new trailer which showcased some tidbits of gameplay focusing on Diana and the astronaut. The gameplay snippets showcase a fast-paced hack-and-slash kind of experience that makes the actions resemble something like from Vanquish. However, all of this information came with a price: The game has now been delayed indefinitely.
So, what could have really happened during this time frame which caused such a delay? Not much is known on the matter in an official capacity, but according to rumors, the game was internally rebooted at some point during development. This report comes from a trusted insider, AestheticGamer. Of course, it’s always best to take such information with a pinch of salt but considering the current scenario, it seems highly likely that these rumors could have some truth within them.
You see, Pragmata isn’t basing itself from established hack-and-slash or horror franchises. It doesn’t have to adhere to certain franchise guidelines, nor does it have the prior context of what fans would want out of such a game. It’s a new IP, which means that the conception and pre-production phase of its development can end up being quite long because it can take a lot of time to find the right balance between adhering to its original creative vision and building something that would appeal to the target audience.
It can take a lot of time to design different prototypes, test them out in isolated environments, and assemble them all just to find out that they can work in cohesion with one another. It’s also possible that some of these prototypes, concepts, and designs are moved from conception to production – and then the team realizes that this can’t really work and then they have to begin from scratch all over again. Internal reboots aren’t exactly a new concept in the games industry. Take, for instance, Rare which has been struggling to show anything for its years’ worth of work on the upcoming Everwild. Reports indicated that the game has been “completely rebooted.”
Again, Pragmata isn’t officially confirmed to have been rebooted internally – but the current scenario of the game gives us enough reasons to at least ascertain that things haven’t been going exactly smoothly behind closed doors. It’s also possible that Pragmata’s development might be suffering due to insufficient support in terms of resources since the developer had been focusing on Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, along with Resident Evil 8: Village. Then there was also Dragon’s Dogma 2 which was recently released leaving out limited people to work on Pragmata.
But even if we consider this internal reboot to be the central cause behind the delay, it’s honestly better for the game itself. It’s always a good sign that a developer is getting the required development time as opposed to executives and stakeholders forcing the team to keep pushing out builds and work against all odds to meet originally promised release dates. It’s vital that the developer would need to to translate whatever goals they have over to the gameplay to ensure that each aspect of the presentation works in cohesion with one another. And if this takes some more time to deliver that, then so be it. Of course, it’s also disappointing to fans who keep on waiting with bated breath for any information on a highly anticipated game like Pragmata – but it’s better that we will most likely get a more polished game than a half baked product that fails to capture the attention of the people eagerly waiting for it.
Pragmata definitely feels like an exciting game that has a ton of potential given its sci-fi setting, and the developer has done a great job of nailing the ever-ominous aesthetic in the trailers. From what has been shown, the world looks really compelling from a visual standpoint. It also looks quite a bit like Death Stranding with a mysterious aesthetic that never fails to keep its players guessing. However, these tidbits pieces are never enough to make complete sense out of it all.
So, it seems there is a lot going on with Pragmata. From reports of internal reboots to perhaps the developer not being able to allocate resources to its development while it works on other projects like Resident Evil 9, it’s pretty hard to ascertain what will happen with this IP. Add to that the fact that the developer has remained tight lipped on the matter, we are left to wonder whether this is yet another Deep Down like scenario. A couple of trailers here and there followed by a bunch of absolutely nothing. If we were to go with the developer’s words, the game is very much alive and in development, so we can at least have hope that it will come out at some point in the near future. Let’s just hope that when it comes out, the experience is as close as possible to the game’s original vision.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
