We have reason to believe that Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp will finally be going to release, possibly as soon as next week.
This is no idle rumor. A Redditor who works at Walmart revealed that they recently picked up cardboard displays, AKA marketing materials, for upcoming Nintendo Switch games.
Two of the displays are for games we already know about. The Legend of Zelda: Tears for the Kingdom will be releasing exclusively to the Nintendo Switch this May 12, 2023. Minecraft Legends, unveiled in Xbox’s Developer_Direct, will be releasing on April 18, 2023 on Switch, as well as Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.
But the third display is for itself. The display actually says on the signs that the game is “available now.” Documentation indicates that the display will be put up on February 10, 2023.
The source also stated that they haven’t received any physical copies of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp. Given that February 10 is falling on a Friday, there is still sufficient time for their local store to get copies. He claims they get new stocks every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the week.
This rumor comes at an interesting time. There has been ongoing speculation that there will be a Nintendo Direct sometime this month. That Direct would be a perfect time to confirm that they would finally be releasing Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp was originally delayed last September in response to real life world events. Nintendo had decided that it was not prudent for the child-friendly company to release a military themed turn-based strategy game at the onset of a war. Nintendo gave no clue as to when the game would be released. If there was a thought that they would wait for the war to be over, that now seems to be an unrealistic prospect.
While unsavory developments in the war do continue, Nintendo may have decided it was finally time to release the game. Of course, other war and military themed games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 have released, to zero war related controversy. Of course, Ukrainians are actively making video games themselves, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl still in the works and planned for release. In fact, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl already reflects the real world politics surrounding its production. The game’s name itself has changed from Chernobyl to Chornobyl, to reflect the English spelling of Ukrainian spelling of the town’s name, instead of its Russian spelling.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp does not even reference any countries, ethnicities, or real world events that would be relevant to the war at all. Nintendo might still be taking a risk by going through with this release, but it does seem considerably less risky now than way back in September.
