While details on why this has happened are pretty murky, Yacht Club Games described a few difficulties in getting the game for Xbox One on physical disc and in retail.
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Yacht Club Games has hit a few snags with the retail versions of Shovel Knight.
Yacht Club Games has announced that Shovel Knight’s long-awaited retail package has been delayed until November.
In a statement on the company’s blog, they cite “publishing policies on the platform that are totally beyond our control” has caused the game’s physical release to be cancelled.
If you had that pre-ordered, you’re out of luck.
Second, the Xbox One version has been axed – at least for now. Also, please note that the digital version of Shovel Knight will still be available on the Xbox Store and is not subject to cancellation. That won’t happen in time for this holiday season, but the official line is to “hang in there a bit longer”. Furthermore, hard copies of the game will sell for $24.99, $5 more than their original asking price of $19.99, and they’ll be packaged with a free download of the game’s soundtrack, as composed by Jake Kaufman. This decision was funded less by greed and more by exposure as several retailers told the studio that shelf space was a limited and that a game under $20 would only be featured in a bargain bin.
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Additionally, the publisher announced a price change for the retail version. We know this is a bit redundant, as the soundtrack is “pay what you want” online, but this provides a guilt free way to formally obtain the full, high-quality version of the soundtrack for free! Meanwhile, the Shovel Knight amiibo has yet to open pre-orders in North America, but Yacht Club is promising more information soon.
