Ninjala, the free-to-play brawler for the Switch, has been delayed by the developer. “Although we are working hard to launch Ninjala and release it to our fans, the health and safety of our employees is paramount. We apologize to our Ninjala fans who were eagerly anticipating its launch, and we ask for your understanding as we work to bring you the best game we can in this additional month,” explained Morishita when detailing the four-week delay. The delay comes as a result of the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic which it has caused.
Currently, more than 4.2 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with the disease. As of now, the US remains the major center for outbreaks. blasting past 1.3 million infections in the country. Within the US, more than 81,000 people have died from COVID-19, while more than 285,000 people have died globally from the virus. So all in all, it’s pretty understandable why the developer would choose to delay things rather than risk infection.
“Ninjala is unlike anything we have ever created before,” said Kazuki Morishita, president and CEO of GungHo Online Entertainment during the game’s initial reveal back in March. “How many other games let you battle your opponents with bubble gum while running up buildings as a colorful ninja?”
The aesthetics certainly rival two major games out right now, and putting it on the Switch will give the developer an edge in visibility. Fortnite and Splatoon are both monsters in their own genres, and Ninjala will be lucky to get the extra bit of time to polish and improve the gameplay loop. The new shooter fills in a genre mostly created by the Splatoon series, where gamers undertake a competitive competition to come out on top in a wacky sport in a cartoonish world.
“Ninjala is near completion, but we are significantly limited in how quickly we can work to test and finalize the game when we cannot be in the same room,” said Morishita in an official statement. Of course, developer GungHo Online Entertainment is not the only studio that’s currently dealing with the fallout from the ongoing pandemic and the disruptions that mandatory quarantine and social isolation have caused.
The developer announced the delay via a video update published to the YouTube channel for the game. The update details that the disruptions caused by COVID-19 across the industry have affected game developers both big and small. Watch the full update down below.
Source: Nintendo Life
