'Shantae and the Pirate's Curse' Switch port release date news: Genie title up for Switch release next week

"Shantae and the Pirate's Curse" arriving on Nintendo switch on March 20WayForward

"Shantae and the Pirate's Curse," another nostalgic platformer from Wayforward popular genie franchise, is dropping onto a Nintendo console, and this time around on the Nintendo Switch.

In a surprising announcement, game developer Wayforward confirmed that the metrovaid sub-genre–inspired title will be arriving on the Nintendo Switch not later than next week on March 20.

This abrupt and unprecedented reveal came after the game was seen listed on the Australian Nintendo eShop, which detailed the game as coming to the hybrid console next week. However, as exciting as this may sound, the game is currently only available in the aforementioned store. A release date for the North American, European, and Japanese eShops has still not been shared.

However, fans should not fear, Nintendo Everything argues that a release for other regions is just around the corner and, similarly, interested buyers will be able to pre-order the game on their respective eShops.

Content-wise, Nintendo Life said that, at face value, the game looks like a straight port of the original title. This might be a disappointing development for those who are familiar with the game, but, for those who have yet to take the plunge into the genie-pirate–inspired fantasy world, this particular situation would not be a problem in the slightest.

For background purposes, "Shantae and the Pirate's Curse" is a 16-bit platformer that debuted on the 3DS and the Wii U console back in 2014. It is the third game to drop in the "Shantae" franchise, following the events of the previously released title "Shantae: Risky's Revenge."

"Shantae and the Pirate's Curse" will follow the events of its predecessor "Shantae: Risky's Revenge," wherein protagonist Shantae loses her powers and becomes a simple human being. Players will take on the role of this powerless genie and set out on a journey to battle Ammo Baron, who bought Shantae's town and is now its acting mayor and the imminent threat of the Pirate Master's revival.

"Shantae and the Pirate's Curse" is currently available on the following platforms -- on the Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation 4, PC, and the Xbox One.