PS5 exclusive horror game bucks the trend, announces a delay to get out of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7's way instead of Hollow Knight: Silksong

A brightened Code Violet trailer screenshot shows a female character facing a huge dinosaur, with flames in the background.
(Image credit: TeamKill Media)

While a bunch of other games are getting the heck out of Hollow Knight: Silksong's way, one horror romp's decided to buck the trend and announce a delay to avoid Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

Over the last week or so, Silksong's surprise release date prompted many a developer to change their own launch plans. Persona-ish RPG Demonschool, hellish roguelike CloverPit, and comedy romp Baby Steps are just some of the eight games that were delayed out of Silksong's orbit in just five days after its newest trailer.

In an announcement post that at first glance made me do a 'here we go again' eyeroll, developer Teamkill Media announced it's delaying its own dino horror game Code Violet because of Silk- uhh, I mean, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

Code Violet - Release Date Announcement Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube Code Violet - Release Date Announcement Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube
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"After careful consideration, we've decided to move the release date from November 14, 2025, to December 12, 2025," a social media post reveals. "This decision comes in light of the recently announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, set to launch on the same original date. We recognize that competing with such a major release on a marketing level would be impossible.

"While we understand this delay may be disappointing, we're committed to making the extra time count. During this additional month, we'll be enhancing our character models, optimizing and polishing to deliver the most immersive and polished experience possible." To soften the blow, the team's also giving away two Christmas-themed cosmetics to all players at launch.

As for the game itself, Code Violet looks like it's taking the close-up, third-person, action-horror gameplay of the new Resident Evils and applying it to another old Capcom series: Dino Crisis. I'm not sure how many people exist in the venn diagram centre between Blops fan and Dino Crisis hopeful, but it must be a significant enough chunk to justify a delay.

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Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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