Hines said several factors led Bethesda to delay MachineGames' new shooter, but ultimately the game just needed more polish.
"Working on next-gen and current gen definitely has an impact, you're developing for two different things," Hines said. "The fact that the next-gen stuff is still moving is also definitely a factor. But the most important thing was definitely just looking where it was at, what they needed to polish."
Hines said Wolfenstein: The New Order is not trying to be a shooter alone, but also a game that features driving sequences, story elements, and stealth sections. Bethesda was not willing to release the game before all components were ready to go, he said.
"Each one of those has to be excellent," Hines said. "It's not just like we're making a shooter, where if the shooting is good, then all 16 hours of the game will be good because it's all we're doing."
Overall, Hines said The New Order "needs to be the best Wolfenstein game ever made," and to do that, the publisher is not willing to cut any corners and sacrifice quality.
"It can't have the same historical impact of Wolfenstein 3D, but it can be a better game," he said.