Yooka-Laylee Not Getting A Nintendo Switch Physical Release
From its adorable, music pun-based title to its even more cutesy characters, connection to the retro Nintendo 64-era games, and a team packed full of former Rare employees, it comes as little surprise that the upcoming open-world platformer Yooka-Laylee holds a special place in a ton of gamers' hearts. Add in a healthy sprinkling of sleek, bright graphics and promises of immersive play, and the game looks like a hit. Which is why many are disappointed to hear the news that Yooka-Laylee will not be receiving a physical release for the Nintendo Switch.
The news follows the December 2016 announcement that production for the Wii U version of Yooka-Laylee had been officially cancelled due to "unforeseen technical issues," according to its developer, Playtonic Games. The British company didn't leave players entirely in the dark, though, as it quickly decided to bring the hyped-up game to the highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch console, which launches on March 3, 2017.
It seems Yooka-Laylee and Playtonic have their laws of motion down, as it looks like for every action they took forward, there was an equal and opposite reaction backward. Though the game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, it will not be available in a boxed retail form as it will for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Developer Playtonic Games addressed the situation with a thorough explanation: "Unfortunately, physical Switch editions are beyond our scope right now, as we anticipate the difference in costs compared to digital formats would result in further expense to backers which we're unable to accurately determine at this point in time. If circumstances change, we'll update you ASAP as we 100% would love to do a physical release on Switch."
Despite players not being able to nab a physical Switch edition of Yooka-Laylee, the future still seems bright. The game, which hits shelves (not literally for the Switch, however) on April 11, looks so good, it's already made our list of games that are going to blow everyone away in 2017.