Bitmap Bureau's highly anticipated beat-'em-up He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Dragon Pearl of Destruction has been delayed, according to Push Square. The game was originally set to land on PS5 on April 28, putting it just two weeks away from release when the news dropped.
Instead of that firm launch date, the studio has pushed the title back to sometime in summer - a frustratingly vague window that gives fans no concrete date to look forward to. For anyone who had already pencilled in late April for some nostalgic brawler action, that's a tough pill to swallow.
Dragon Pearl of Destruction has been turning heads with its vibrant retro aesthetic and classic side-scrolling beat-'em-up gameplay, channeling the spirit of arcade brawlers while leaning hard into the Masters of the Universe license. Bitmap Bureau, known for their work on games like Xeno Crisis, are clearly the right studio for a project like this - they understand the genre deeply.
A two-week-out delay is particularly stinging because it typically signals the game was very close to gold, meaning whatever prompted the delay was likely discovered late in QA. No specific reason has been given for the pushback, which only adds to the frustration for fans who have been watching this one closely.
Summer is still a reasonable turnaround if the team uses the extra time wisely. Beat-'em-ups live and die by their feel, and if a few extra weeks of polish tightens up the combat or irons out technical wrinkles on PS5, most players will forgive the wait. Still, delays this close to launch are never a great sign, and the lack of a new target date makes it hard to gauge how significant the issues actually are.
No updated release window beyond "summer" has been confirmed at the time of writing. Keep an eye on Bitmap Bureau's channels for further updates.
