Nintendo has released a statement about the impact of COVID-19 on its 2020 Switch games schedule, claiming that there could be delays should its “effects” be “prolonged or worsen further.”
Microsoft and Sony had made similar statements over the previous months, leading to delays for titles such as Minecraft Dungeons, Wasteland 3, Marvel’s Iron Man, The Last of Us Part II, and Ghost of Tsushima.
Compared to the other platform owners, though, Nintendo has yet to make announcements about the titles it should be launching this year, to prevent news of delays harming its business or because it really doesn’t know when those launches could happen in such uncertain conditions.
“If the effects of COVID-19 are prolonged or worsen further, development schedules may be impacted due to the difference in development environments between working from home and in the office,” says the note from Nintendo’s Japanese documents wrapping up the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, 2020.
“In particular, the impact to overseas subsidiaries and other affiliated companies involved in development is anticipated to be even more difficult to predict than within Japan,” it adds.
The company believes that “as a result of these factors, we may not be able to proceed with the release of Nintendo products and the start of services as planned.”
However, COVID-19 has not slowed down software sales, Animal Crossing: New Horizons had the best game start since the release of Switch.
While it doesn’t disclose details on that, Nintendo mentions that “this is also true for other software publishers, so it may not be possible to provide game content on Nintendo platforms as planned.”
More delays could be on the way, it seems, and those could not be only from Nintendo but also from other developers and publishers working on Switch.
Rumors have pointed out plans were being made for the 35th Mario’s anniversary, which should involve multiple remasters from the franchise; a Paper Mario game is also reportedly in the making. However, it’s not clear when those could be released now or even announced.
The platform holder currently has only a single triple-A title revealed for 2020, which is Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, slated for May 29.
