Nintendo announced today on Twitter that Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp will be delayed indefinitely due to the Russia-Ukraine War. In the announcement, Nintendo cited that the decision to postpone the game was made as a response to “recent world events,” as the game’s themes of war and invasion would be unsuitable for release given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a collection comprising the classic 2001 GBA game Advance Wars and its 2003 sequel Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising. The game implements turn-based strategies throughout the game as the player takes on the role of a tactical adviser for the Orange Star Army. The player will need to use military tactics to take over enemy squads and capture towns and bases, so it’s understandable why Nintendo decided to hold off on the game’s release.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp has now been delayed twice since it was first announced for the Nintendo Switch during E3 2021. After the game’s official announcement in June 2021, it was planned to release later that same year on December 3rd. Nintendo eventually delayed the game to Spring 2022, stating, “the game just needs little more time for fine tuning,” in an announcement on Twitter. In last month’s Nintendo Direct, Nintendo revealed that the game was planned to release on April 8th.
This is also the second time that Advance Wars series has coincided with world events. Advanced Wars was first released in North America for the Game Boy Advanced the day before September 11, 2001, and was delayed internationally in Europe until 2002 and Japan in 2004.
Nintendo has been relatively quiet regarding the war, unlike numerous other developers and companies, even now with the strategic wording of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp’s delay announcement. However, Nintendo has currently suspended eShop sales in Russia by putting the site under maintenance, following other game developers and publishers like Microsoft and EA suspending game sales in Russia.