I think the powers that be want physical copies on shelves the same time the pdf becomes available. Seattle Edition was special in that it's essentially a reprint, so it went live in the wild, not just for Gen Con attendees.
Well, I wouldn’t really say it was truly live if the hard copy was only available to a small group of people for a short amount of time, lol. But I understand what you’re saying. I’m waiting for this book and Double Clutch, hoping beyond hope that they are available before the 3rd and 8th of October. I know that they won’t be, but I am hoping.
Why those dates? I’m getting paid to GM Shadowrun then! That is, if I can get a table with all the D&D5E people glutting the player market around here, ugh. Oh I am running 5E too, and those tables filled quickly, which kinda made me sad because I’d rather do SR any day.