It seems that thecoronavirusis causing all sorts of issues in the video game industry recently. After it was reported earlier today that the disease has nowimpacted Nintendo’s ability to ship products across Japan, the virus has now delayed the launch ofThe Outer Worldson Switch as well.Publisher Private Division announced this afternoon on Twitter that due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Switch port ofÂThe Outer WorldsÂhas now been pushed back to an unspecified date. Virtuos, a developer based in China, which is the primary location in which the coronavirus has been spreading, is the studio behind the port for Switch. Because of the outbreak, Virtuos' offices have recently been closed, meaning that they weren’t going to be able to hit the game’s previously announced launch date of July 24, 2025.This update on the Switch version comes about merely one week afterPrivate Division had announced the launch date forÂThe Outer Worldson the platform. Clearly, the past week has been hectic at the publisher and the team at Virtuos though and has forced them to make this decision only a month out from release.
If there is one positive note in all of this, however, Private Division did also announce today that the physical version ofThe Outer WorldsÂon Switch will now come in the form of a cartridge. When first announced last week, the physical version was only going to come with a download code that you would redeem on the Switch eShop to download the game. With more time to now work on the game, Private Division says it will not be able to release the game on a physical cartridge, which will likely please many fans.
It’s been a bit staggering to see an illness like the coronavirus have so manywide-reaching effects on the video game industryover the past few weeks, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry with something as dangerous as this. We’ll keep you posted if a new launch date for the Switch edition ofThe Outer Worldscomes about soon.
