War Hospital, the unique real-time strategy game focusing on saving lives rather than taking them, has been delayed to early 2024. The game was originally scheduled to launch on 26 October, 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, but the developers at Brave Lamb Studio have decided to extend their development time to polish the game and achieve better authenticity and other quality goals.

War Hospital is set in 1918 during World War I and puts players in the role of Major Henry Wells, a retired British combat medic who is drafted back to the French Front. There, he has to manage a field hospital under constant artillery fire and treat horrible war injuries using real WW1 equipment and methods. The game features a range of game mechanics, including management, strategy and role playing, as well as a faithfully recreated setting of the French Front in WW1.

Brave Lamb Studios explained their reasons for the delay in a statement posted on Steam (included below):

“Dear players,

You have been following our news for a long time and you know that we are committed to making a truly unique game. As the aim of the game is to save people rather than kill them, War Hospital offers a different perspective from other war strategy games. We want to make the game as deep and realistic as possible while respecting the subject it deals with. This is why War Hospital features a range of game mechanics, including management, strategy and role play. These different systems are complex, and we require more development time than previously thought to find the right balance.

To achieve our authenticity and quality goals, we have decided to extend our development time and push back the release to early 2024. These additional months will allow us to refine details, balance the game, and fix more bugs so that you have a more polished game.

Thank you for your understanding, your patience, and your support.
Stay tuned for more information about War Hospital soon.

The War Hospital team.”

War Hospital certainly has an interesting premise, one focused on making moral choices and dealing with the consequences of war. Time will tell how this unique and immersive experience of being a war medic, in one of the most brutal conflicts in history, will ‘play’ out.

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Owner, founder and editor-in-chief at Vamers, Hans has a vested interest in geek culture and the interactive entertainment industry. With a Masters degree in Communications and Ludology, he is well read and versed in matters relating to video games and communication media, among many other topics of interest.