Open-world action-adventure Crackdown 3 is not going to be out at the same time as the Xbox One X. Slated for a November 7 release date, the game for Xbox One, Xbox One X, and Windows 10 has been pushed back to next year.

“Crackdown 3 is a hugely ambitious game and we want to ensure we deliver the right experiences all the way through every part of the game, whether that’s campaign, co-op multiplayer or our competitive multiplayer mode, Wrecking Zone,” said Microsoft Publishing General Manager Shannon Loftis to Polygon.

The reason for the delay has been slated as getting all three game modes to work as they should.

“Getting the balance right between the three modes is important, and we are going to take the extra development time to ensure that. Gamers can expect Crackdown 3 in Spring of 2018,” Loftis said. After which she claimed the challenges faced by the development teams over the years include “immersive true 4K gameplay, cloud-computing competitive multiplayer and a sprawling and futuristic open world”.

At E3 2017, Crackdown 3 got a live action trailer that had Terry Crews and will feature four player co-op. Earlier the developer of the game was said to be Reagent games, a studio run by Crackdown creator David Jones - and support from Dead Island 2 and Snake Pass developer Sumo Digital, the E3 2017 announcement had only Sumo Digital listed.

The Crackdown 3 delay deals a blow to the Xbox One X’s chances at regaining marketshare for Microsoft in a console race thats seeing both Sony and Nintendo prosper. For consumers, this was one rare exclusive title for the Xbox One family of consoles and a reason to bother with the Xbox One X. It's not like there aren't any options though. If you're looking to scratch your open-world over the top action itch, there's Agents of Mayhem that we found to be wildly entertaining.

Nonetheless, given how rough and choppy Crackdown 3 looked in recent videos, this could perhaps be the delay needed to ensure it ships at its best.