Full Disclosure: I backed Yooka-Laylee on Kickstarter

After being delayed from this year, Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee finally has a release date. In a post on developer Playtonic Games’ website, the team finally revealed that the game is planned to be released for 40$ on April 11, 2017.

The developer thanked their backers and supporters for sticking with them the past year, saying:

With work on Yooka-Laylee almost complete, the details of our release plans can finally be etched in stone. There’s a lot to get through, but before we do: the Playtonic team would like to thank every backer and fan for your stellar support in 2016. Soon we’ll reward your noble dedication with a game that – hopefully – tickles you very, very much.

However, there is some bad news: the previously announced Wii U version of Yooka-Laylee has been cancelled in favor of a Switch port. Playtonic explained their decision, saying:

The Playtonic team is sad to confirm that despite our best efforts and exploring every possible avenue, we’ve encountered unforeseen technical issues that unfortunately mean it will be impossible for us to release the game on Wii U as initially planned. We can however confirm the exciting news that we are now working very closely with Nintendo to look to bring Yooka-Laylee to the upcoming Nintendo Switch. We’re looking forward to exploring the opportunity and will have more details to share early next year. We’d like to apologise to those affected by this development and offer all Wii U backers the opportunity to move their pledge free-of-charge to any of the versions launching on April 11th (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Mac or Linux) or upgrade to the Nintendo Switch version when we announce further details in 2017.

The team also announced that pre-orders will get instant access to the previously backer-exclusive Toybox demo of the game. Playtonic also finished off by releasing a new trailer for the game, which you can watch above.

Update: Playtonic has announced they will be offering refunds to backers of the Wii U version who ask for one.