'Hyperdimension Neptunia' & 'Death End' Switch Releases Scrapped For "Not Complying With Nintendo Guidelines"

Image: Idea Factory

Idea Factory International has released a statement saying that a quartet of previously announced titles won't be releasing for Switch in the West after all.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2 Sisters Generation, and Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3 V Generation had been lined up for release back in May, but were postponed. Death End Re;Quest: Code Z was due to launch on the North American and European eShops in 2025, but has now been cancelled.

According to the publisher, the cancellation is "due to the contents of the Re;Birth series and Death end re;Quest: Code Z not complying with the Nintendo Guidelines."

Here's the full statement:

Idea Factory International was originally set to release the following Neptunia titles on the Nintendo eShop on May 21: Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2 Sisters Generation, and Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3 V Generation. It was also announced that Death end re;Quest: Code Z was set to launch physically and digitally for Nintendo Switch™ in 2025.

The 3 Neptunia titles and Death end re;Quest: Code Z for North America and Europe will no longer launch on the Nintendo Switch/Nintendo eShop due to the contents of the Re;Birth series and Death end re;Quest: Code Z not complying with the Nintendo Guidelines.

Please note that Death end re;Quest: Code Z will still launch physically and digitally for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®5 in 2025.

If you're unfamiliar with these Compile Heart games, Hyperdimension Neptunia is an RPG adventure series which essentially parodies the "console wars" with scantily-clad characters taking on the roles of various consoles. The first game in the series, set in the faraway land of 'Gamindustri', launched on PS3 back in 2010 with girls based on the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360. One might speculate that thinly veiled references to competitors' hardware might rub Nintendo the wrong way, although they're all on Switch in Japan and we've got various other Neptunia games in the West.

Death end re;Quest: Code Z is a spin-off of a series already available in the West (Death end re;Quest 1 and 2) and this entry launched in Japan in September. It carries an 18+ 'Cero Z' age rating compared to the 17+ 'Cero D' of the previous two games, but it's unclear exactly why the planned Western release has been scrapped on Switch.

We've reached out to the publisher for clarification as to which of Nintendo's guidelines these games fall foul of and we'll update this article if we hear back.