'South Park: The Stick of Truth' now due 2013

The upcoming South Park video game, a role-playing adventure that sees Cartman and co rip on the genre's wizard and warrior conventions, is one of a number of titles to slip in 2013.

Publisher THQ confessed that South Park: The Stick of Truth is now due later in the year, not before April 2013 when its new fiscal year begins, ruling out the March release that had been previously announced.

The adventure is being made by role-playing veteran Obsidian Entertainment (Fallout: New Vegas, Neverwinter Nights 2) in cooperation with South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone; Obsidian has already secured $3.9m of crowd-sourced funding for another fantasy role-player, Project Eternity, due April 2014.

Instead of South Park, it's underground action game Metro: Last Light and the World War II squad strategy of Company of Heroes 2 that are marked for distribution in March 2013 -- though both had been previously annouced for the first few months of the year, THQ explains the March dates are 'later than initially planned.'

Also on the slate, but as yet undated, are another Saints Row sequel, Homefront 2, WWE '14, and a new game from Turtle Rock, the team that created PC, Mac and Xbox 360 hit Left 4 Dead.

Before that happens, however, THQ may have to find itself a significant new investor, or put itself up for sale, having already hired an investment and equity firm to help secure better financial foundations.