ArcheAge's upcoming Unchained release was originally set to go live September 30th. However, via a press release by developer gamigo, the game has been delayed till October 15th.
The announcement, made via a press release, states the reasoning behind this move is to ensure that in-game mechanics are balanced and the new ArchePass is implemented properly.
The German publisher intends to prolong the Quality Assurance phase to ensure the in-game mechanics are fairly balanced and that new features, such as the ArchePass, are implemented properly. The decision is based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community, which had a strong influence on the development of ArcheAge: Unchained since its announcement.
Also delayed will be the "Shadows Revealed" update, which brought graphics improvements to both versions of ArcheAge. Gamigo will "extend the development period in order to optimize the new graphics settings, performance and features."
With this announcement, gamigo also mentions the oopening of a preview server on October 1st, giving players a first look at Unchained.
gamigo will also set up a preview server starting October 1st, which will give players access to a first look at the new content. Over the following two weeks, and in two waves, owners of the Founder Packages as well as the general public will have the chance to try out and extensively test the game before its release.
It remains to be seen whether or not ArcheAge: Unchained will fully address and fix the concerns players had with the free-to-play version of the title. We'll be doing our own review and hope to have it in the weeks after its new October 15 launch date.