public beta test requires a lot of additional resources, which we now want to invest more specifically in development. Quality assurance will instead be ensured by our own internal testing department". In an interview with Planet of Games, Brändle clarified: "We do not have the resources to filter and sort all of the anticipated feedback from a beta test. We are currently concentrating exclusively on completion of the product". The following week, Blue Byte announced the slated December release had been pushed back to January 2001, with Thomas Hertzler (Blue Byte CEO and the series producer) explaining, "we know that many gamers were particularly looking forward to The Settlers IV this year and, of course, we understand if Settlerss fans are disappointed. In the end, however, we made our decision with the players in mind. The Settlers IV will not be on shelves before Christmas, but fans will receive a game that corresponds to Blue Byte's high quality standard". Release and Ubisoft takeover In January, the German release date was pushed back to February 15. On February 6, Ubi Soft acquired Blue Byte, revealing their plans to publish the game internationally, with president and CEO, Yves Guillemot, stating: On February 15, the game was released in Germany as planned. However, it suffered from numerous bugs, leading to a negative reaction from fans, and criticism of both the game and Blue Byte in the German gaming press. Although Blue Byte issued a patch the same day the game was released, it introduced additional problems, leading to further negative press. A second patch was released four days later to correct the problems introduced by the first patch. According to German magazine PC Games, 76% of players experienced technical difficulties with the release version of the game. Co-designer Thorsten Mutschall later admitted it had not been ready for release in February and should have been held back for additional playtesting and programming. On March 19, Ubi Soft announced the game would be released throughout Europe at the end of the month, explaining "the reasons behind the unfortunate delay of the product were essentially quality assurance issues". Portable versions In November 2009, working in conjunction with Blue Byte, under license from Ubisoft, Gameloft ported the game to iOS, released under the title The Settlers. In April 2010, the game was ported to webOS, specifically optimised for use with the Palm Pre. In September, Gameloft