Turtle Rock Studios' shooter Evolve has been delayed to Feb. 10, 2015, publisher Take-Two Interactive announced in an earnings release today. The game was originally planned to hit on Oct. 21.

Take-Two did not provide a reason for the delay of the game, but said the extra development time will benefit the developer behind Evolve and called February "a favorable release window." Developer Turtle Rock recently held a closed alpha test for Evolve on PC.

The multiplayer shooter from the original Left 4 Dead studio was due to arrive during a month that was previously crowded with game releases. But with rival publisher Electronic Arts also pushing titles Battlefield Hardline and Dragon Age Inquisition out of October, the month is starting to look much lighter.

Evolve pits four human (or humanoid) characters against a giant, player-controlled monster in a battle for survival. The game is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC.

Update: A 2K Games representative provided the following statement to Polygon following Evolve's delay.

"As stated on the Take-Two Interactive earnings call, 2K and Turtle Rock Studios are extending the development of Evolve by a few months to allow enough time to fully realize the vision for Evolve and meet our collective standards of creative excellence. We are encouraged by the press reaction and fan excitement coming out of a very successful E3, and we are now certain we are headed in the right direction with the game and we are confident in delivering a genre-defining product when Evolve launches on February 10, 2015."