Nintendo Switch Leak Claims Big Shadow Drop Coming Soon

Nintendo Switch owners may soon be treated to another shadow release from Nintendo as part of a rumored Nintendo Direct, and this time, the shadow release could be for a pretty significant game. That game is the long-delayed Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, a game that was previously supposed to come out back in April 2022. New rumors have suggested that the game might release as soon as next week, though there's arguments against that claim, too.

The most recent rumors about the long-awaited return of Advance Wars come from a Redditor who claims to have spotted some marketing displays for Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp. According to user's post, the signage for the Advance Wars game says "available now," and the display is supposedly set to be put up on February 10th.

Couple that with the existing rumors about a Nintendo Direct supposedly coming next week and you've got a recipe for a shadow drop, though not everyone is buying it. For one, the user didn't take any images to back up this claim, though they defended the absence of that evidence by saying they were concerned about getting caught if they took a picture.

Others have cast doubt on the claim by pointing out that there were at one point physical versions of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp planned, and shadow drops are typically only associated with digital releases that allow people to immediately buy the game. The Advance Wars game is an unusual case given the circumstances around its delay, however, so this could perhaps be an exception to the rule of Nintendo wants it to be released quickly so that it can move on to promoting other games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

For those unfamiliar with the Advance Wars situation, the game was originally going to be out in 2021 before it was delayed to what was eventually established to be an April 2022 release date. Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the game was delayed indefinitely "in light of recent world events," Nintendo said. Seldom else has been said about the game since then.

Nintendo eShop listings for the game got updated recently to indicate something might be happening with the Advance Wars title soon, so perhaps there's some truth to this latest rumor after all. Nintendo hasn't yet announced any plans for a Nintendo Direct nor a release of the game, but we'll know soon if the former is happening if there is indeed a Direct planned for next week.