Controversial Nintendo Switch Game Officially Postponed

By Tyler Fischer

An upcoming and controversial Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED game has been officially postponed and delayed indefinitely in the process. Back in July, we relayed word of a game coming to the Switch on August 4 called Massage Freaks. At the time, we noted it may be the most NSFW game released on the Switch yet. Back in the day when Nintendo was very protective over what games were released on its hardware, especially any game that threatened its family-friendly image, this wouldn't have been much of a claim to fame. But with the Switch, Nintendo has abandoned this strategy and been way more laissez-faire when it comes to patrolling what games are allowed to release on its platform. In other words, being the most NSFW game on the platform would be a claim to fame. That said, it looks like Nintendo has prevented the game from releasing on Switch this week, at least in its current form.

The news comes through translation, but Qureate recently announced the game has changed names from Massage Freaks to Beat Refle and is no longer Switch bound. And right now, there's no word of when this will change. According to developer Qureate, the delay is the result of "discussions with related parties." Nintendo isn't name-dropped, but it's unclear who else this could be referencing. 

"The Nintendo Switch version of 'Massage Freaks,' which was scheduled to be released on August 4, 2022, has been postponed after discussions with related parties," reads the statement. "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers. I would appreciate it if you could read the attachment.

While it looks like the game will never come to Nintendo Switch, it's available via Steam and has been since July 31. On the digital PC storefront, it boasts a "Mostly Positive" rating with 77 percent of 76 users reviews reviewing the game positively. And as you would expect, many of the user reviews for the game are also not really safe for work.

At the moment of publishing, there's no word when the game will come to Switch and there's been no comment from Nintendo. What is worth pointing out is the fact that the Switch version of the game has been removed from the game's official website.

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