Shares of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) are down about 6% on a report that the launch of the Battlefield 2042 video game is likely to be delayed.

Gamesradar reported earlier today that multiple sources have pointed towards a Battlefield 2042 delay being announced soon.

Earlier this morning, VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb tweeted: “Welcome to delay season. More delays coming this week. I'll add that I'm actually referring to a singular delay.”

What followed is multiple video gaming enthusiasts and experts claiming they heard rumors that EA is likely to delay the Battlefield 2042 launch. It is yet unclear whether the launch date will be pushed back outside of 2021.

The EA has set October 22 as the official launch date.

Commenting on the rumors, Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey said they would not be surprised to see the title delayed as they thought the rollout schedule was ambitious in scope and we have heard little data on timing of announced beta. In addition, many games have been delayed recently, as they suspect developers are struggling with productivity during the extended work from home scenario.

The analyst said the game could still come out in 2022 and sees weakness as a buying chance for EA. He said Activision Blizzard's (NASDAQ: ATVI) upcoming Call of Duty premium release will have the most to benefit.

"We suspect the game could still be released in FY22 and would be opportunistic on a pull-back," Hickey added. "If the game is delayed out of F3Q22, we think ATVI's upcoming Call of Duty premium release will have the most to benefit."

Including today's move lower in EA share price, shares are now trading in the red YTD.

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