The Forest was not a AAA game, yet it had a literal countdown in the main menu of when the next update would come out, and when that time came there was an update, followed by patches. Also, MOST AAA games meet the release date they advertise.
Most people here are aware that often projects get pushed back, however in professional environments there are also contracts with promised due dates and deliverables, and then there's accountability if those are not met. Every time there is criticism of the 7dtd development, many people immediately try to shut it down with this defense of "oh you don't know how it is, no one ever delivers a project when they say they will". It's called project management, and most game developers seem to be able to do it, even the ones who use the 'Early Access' model (which is sometimes also used as a massive middle finger to people asking for updates).