My most-wanted tactical FPS game's middling Steam Next Fest reviews just delayed it into next year

Despite having a degree in War Studies, I've never quite got on with military-based FPS games. Call of Duty, Battlefield, even Counter-Strike - I prefer a good ol' injection of fantasy in my shooters. But '83's blend of realism and fun has certainly caught my eye, especially in the wake of Battlefield 6's success. Blue Dot Games' debut thrusts you into an allohistorical 1983 where the Cold War escalated into a global conflict. Treading the line between accuracy and multiplayer chaos, its Steam Next Fest demo was met with a somewhat lukewarm response, so perhaps it's no surprise that its launch date has been pushed back.

I'll immediately caveat this by saying that's not a bad thing - in the wake of games like Cyberpunk 2077, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, and other ugly launches, I'd wager that most players would prefer a longer wait for something good over a shorter one for an unfinished release.

In the wake of the '83's Steam Next Fest demo, Blue Dot Games has been hard at work fixing some of the biggest problems. Player reviews at the time complain about issues with gunplay, graphical errors, and connection woes. Thankfully the server issues have been addressed, with myriad other systems getting a revamp, too.

"Our priority since the demo has been clear: focus on the fundamentals," Blue Dot says in its latest Developer Tapes. "That means getting core systems right and feeling stable, and making the game feel more polished across the board."

The team is "retuning everything" when it comes to the gunplay, including "recoil and visual feedback," with the addition of camera shake helping to make things feel a little more realistic. Animation fluidity is also being improved, with "ongoing work focused on smoother transitions, better terrain alignment, and more natural movement throughout." This increased visual fidelity should also mitigate some of the crashing issues that players faced during the demo.

The UI has been described as a "major area of focus," with a "complete replacement," coming soon. The Norway map has also been renamed as Fjord, with a full rework (including some snazzy new lighting) already in progress. There's a brand new destruction system, too, which mirrors what we see in Battlefield, and it's looking pretty impressive.

But all of this means that '83's early access release date has been delayed into 2026. So we'll have to wait a little longer to get our hands on the finalized version. But, given how much better the game looks already, I think it's worth letting the devs cook for just a little longer.