Yooka-Laylee Coming to Nintendo Switch

Following on from the recent Nintendo Switch Premiere event, Team17 has reiterated to Cubed3 that Playtonic Games is working on Yooka-Laylee for Nintendo Switch now, rather than Wii U, as well as now revealing Rextro's Arcade, a place where people can go to have some multiplayer fun.

Award-winning international games label Team17 and Playtonic Games, the UK studio formed by veterans of the platforming genre, have released a new gameplay trailer showcasing a variety of exciting local multiplayer arcade games that will feature in Yooka-Laylee when it launches. Yooka-Laylee features eight unique multiplayer arcade games that can be found in dated dino Rextro's Arcade. Players are able to tackle all of the games solo in a bid for a high score on the leaderboards, or they can engage in local couch co-operative action with three other friends.

Compete in the Glaciators brawler arena to collect the most quills, race to the finish line in Kartos Karting, fight for the flag in Blag the Flag, blast away the enemies in shoot 'em-up Gun-let Run and traverse both Jobstacle Course and Hurdle Hijinx, plus more! These are just some of the exciting games you can expect to find in Rextro's Arcade. Word has it that those who are able to find and collect the special play coins within the extensive single-player campaign will even be able to power-up the arcade cabinets located within the mysterious book worlds for a chance to win some sought-after pagies.

As well as the local multiplayer arcade games, Yooka-Laylee offers a second player the opportunity to co-star in the main adventure. Simply connect an additional controller to buddy up. Taking control of the Bee Team, the second player will able to grab quills and collect and store butterflies for when Yooka and Laylee are really in need of health or energy boost. They can even stop some traps to help the player traverse past particularly tricky obstacles!

Check out just some of the multiplayer games in the new trailer here:

Yooka-Laylee launches on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac and Linux on the 11th April 2017 and is available to pre-order digitally now via the Xbox Store, PlayStation Store, Steam and GOG. A boxed version is also available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One from select retailers. Gamers who pre-order either digitally or the physical version from select retailers such as GAME in the UK and Amazon in the US (£34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 for non-Kickstarter backers) will receive an instant unlock of the Yooka-Laylee Toybox, which gives a taste of the platforming mechanics set to appear in the full game in a self-contained, spoiler free sandbox experience.

On the matter of Yooka-Laylee for Wii U, development is being transferred to the upcoming Nintendo Switch:

We're sad to announce that despite our best efforts and exploring every possible avenue, we have encountered unforseen technical issues that unfortunately mean it will be impossible for us to release Yooka-Laylee on Wii U, as initially planned. We can, however, confirm that we are working very closely with Nintendo to look to bring Yooka-Laylee to the upcoming Nintendo Switch. We're thrilled to be able to explore the opportunity and more details will be shared in early 2017. Of course, any backers who pledged for the Wii U version will be able to move their pledge to any of the versions launching on 11th April or upgrade to the Nintendo Switch version when we announce further details in 2017. Thanks again for your incredible support.
- Gavin Price, Studio Director, Playtonic Games.