Summary
The hit visual novelThe Hungry Lamb: Traveling in the Late Ming Dynastyhas been pulled from the Japanese Nintendo Switch shop mere days after its release. The game was initially launched for PC in 2024, but a globalNintendo Switchrelease was scheduled for March 2025.
Developed by ZerocreationGames and published by 2P Games,The Hungry Lambis adark historical visual novelthat originally launched on Steam in April 2024. The game currently has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on the platform with over 42,000 reviews. In January 2025, 2P Games revealed thatThe Hungry Lambhad reached over one million copies sold, and later confirmed its worldwide release for Nintendo Switch on March 13. However, the Switch version ofThe Hungry Lambhas been off to a rocky start in some regions due to its age rating.
As reported byAutomaton,The Hungry Lambhas been removed from the Japanese Nintendo Switch store after only four days since its release. According to 2P Games,The Hungry Lamb’s age rating is being reevaluated in the Japanese storefront and thus has been temporarily delisted. The visual novel initially launched with a 16+ IARC rating in Japan, which is lower than the ESRB Teen and PEGI 18 ratings it received in North America in the UK, respectively. The Nintendo eShop lets publishers easily change a game’s age rating without pulling it from sale, except when the increase is by two levels or to an 18+ category. While 2P Games hasn’t confirmed the game’s new rating, it is expected to be 18+. PerThe Hungry Lamb’s description on Steam, thevisual novel contains sensitive contentlike cannibalism, human trafficking, “depictions of sexual violence,” and more.
The Hungry Lamb Pulled From Sale on Japanese Switch Shop Due to Age Rating
2P Games assured fans thatThe Hungry Lambwill return to the Switch shop and players who have already purchased it won’t experience any problems when playing.The Hungry Lambisset in ancient Chinaand follows the story of Liang, a bandit who has been commissioned to escort four young girls to Luoyang. In the process, he discovers that the girls might be eaten by a swine demon once they reach their destination. 2P Games has stated thatThe Hungry Lambbecame the second best-selling Chinese game of 2024, and a sequel calledThe Weeping Swan: Ten Days of the City’s Fallhas been confirmed for late 2025 as well.
It isn’t too uncommon for games to have issues with age ratings in some regions because of their content. Players might remember when the hit indieBalatrowas mistakenly rated as an 18+ titleand was even removed from the Nintendo eShop in the UK. While Japanese fans wait forThe Hungry Lamb’s return, the game is available in the Nintendo Shop in other regions with a 10% discount celebrating its launch.
