Switch version of The Outer Worlds delayed and coronavirus is to blame
Last week, Private Division announced a March 6th, 2020 release date for the Switch version of The Outer Worlds. Unfortunately, the game will no longer meet that release date, with Private Division announcing a delay. Delays are always a bummer, but in this case, Private Division has a very good reason for pushing the game back.
As the company explained on Twitter, the Switch version of The Outer Worlds has been delayed because the team at Virtuous (the company handling the Switch porting duties) has been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Private Division didn't announce a new release date the Switch version, saying that it will let us know when there's a new date to share.
We're delaying @OuterWorlds on Nintendo Switch due to the coronavirus impacting the Virtuos team working on the port, to provide them enough time to finish development. We'll now be releasing the physical version on cartridge. Once we have a new launch date, we'll let you know!
— Private Division (@PrivateDivision) February 6, 2020
Private Division did share a bit of good news in its tweet, though, by announcing that the physical version of The Outer Worlds will now ship with a cartridge. When the game's release date was announced last week, Private Division confirmed that the retail version wouldn't actually include a cartridge, but rather a download code for a digital copy. Private Division and Virtuous received some push back for that decision, so it seems that this delay has given the companies time to do a cartridge production run.
This isn't the first time we've heard of coronavirus impacting businesses. Just today, Ericsson announced that it will be skipping MWC 2020 – the biggest mobile trade show of the year – because it can't guarantee it can keep its employees and visitors safe from coronavirus exposure. LG made a similar announcement earlier this week, and while ZTE will still be attending the show, it will scale back its presence because of the outbreak.
We're delaying @OuterWorlds on Nintendo Switch due to the coronavirus impacting the Virtuos team working on the port, to provide them enough time to finish development. We'll now be releasing the physical version on cartridge. Once we have a new launch date, we'll let you know!
— Private Division (@PrivateDivision) February 6, 2020
In a subsequent tweet, Private Division clarified that the team at Virtuous is okay, but their offices have been closed during the outbreak. Private Division leaves off by telling us that it's working with Virtuous to hammer out a new release timeline and that it "will share more regarding a new launch date shortly." We'll let you know when that happens, so stay tuned for more.