Nintendo Blocked This RPG, So It's Shipping From Asia

When Nintendo canceled the western Switch version of Death end re;Quest Code Z for not complying with its guidelines, that could have been the end of the story. Instead, publisher eastasiasoft announced today that it will release the dungeon RPG on Switch in Asia later in 2026, complete with English text and Japanese voice-overs. Since the Switch is region-free, anyone with a console can play it.

It's a clever end-run around Nintendo's content policies, and I love seeing a smaller publisher refuse to just eat the loss. The game originally launched on PS5, PS4, and Switch in Japan on September 19, 2024, then came west on PS5 and PS4 on May 13, 2025, with a PC release via Steam following on August 27, 2025. The Switch version was originally planned for the western launch but got pulled. Nintendo never publicly specified which guidelines the game violated, and the announcement from eastasiasoft doesn't elaborate either.

Pre-orders for the physical edition open on April 16 at 8:00 a.m. PT through Play-Asia. Two versions will be available: a $39.99 standard edition and a $59.99 limited edition that bundles the game with a manual, soundtrack CD, art book, Joy-Con stickers, mini case, acrylic standee, and a numbered certificate in a collector's box. Only 2,000 limited editions will be produced.

Developed by Compile Heart, the game is a turn-based dungeon RPG where players guide protagonist Sayaka through trap-filled mazes, managing sanity and making choices that branch into multiple endings. Eastasiasoft and Idea Factory have used this same Asia-with-English-text approach before for the Hyperdimension Neptunia and Hakuoki series, so there's precedent for the workaround. It's still an import, though, which means higher shipping costs and longer wait times for western buyers who specifically want the Switch version.