GungHo’s ninja gum action game Ninjala pushed to 2020

Concerns with online reliability cited

GungHo has delayed Ninjala – a bubblegum-blowing, bat-swinging, kid-ninja multiplayer action game for Nintendo Switch – until spring 2020. That’s one year later than previously planned.

The extra production time will go toward creating “a more reliable online experience” and “adding more content,” according to executive producer Kazuki Morishita. Here’s a much-needed refresher.

I tried Ninjala at E3 2018 (you couldn’t miss GungHo’s eye-catching booth display), and while it falls short of Nintendo’s expertly-toned Splatoon series, it has a few neat ideas that are worth getting right.

“Blowing a comically large bubble to make a ridiculously long baseball bat kept me entertained during both of the rounds of Ninjala I played,” past-me said at the time while dreaming about Big League Chew. “I would’ve liked to have tested out more weapon types (like the grayed-out yo-yo), and I struggled with a lack of good lock-on options, but there’s something to this gum-loving ninja concept for sure.”

I was wondering whatever came of Ninjala. Nice to know it’s still happening.