Nintendo Switch exclusive racing game Cruis'n Blast has been removed from the eShop, and fans were given no advance warning. Nintendo Switch has played host to several exclusive games since the system's launch back in 2017. The vast majority of those games have remained available on the eShop, and have also become playable on Nintendo Switch 2. Some of those games have even received improved graphics and performance as a result.
While Switch 2 has been out for more than a year, Nintendo's previous system continues to see support. The company has started to wind down the number of first-party games released on the original Switch, but some high-profile games have been made available in 2025. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream released to huge sales, suggesting that the system continues to see widespread use.
Cruis'n Blast Gets Delisted on Nintendo Switch
Cruis'n Blast was developed and published by Raw Thrills, acting as a sequel to a series of racing games released on N64, GBA, and Wii. Several Switch games have been delisted over the years, but typically fans are given an opportunity to make plans ahead of time. That was not the case for Cruis'n Blast, and the fact that it's a franchise owned by Nintendo makes the situation all the more unusual. It's possible the removal could have something to do with the licensed vehicles that appear in the game, but no explanation has been provided.
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While Cruis'n Blast can no longer be purchased from the eShop, the game did receive a physical release. That means Switch owners that weren't able to download the game before it was removed can still track down a copy, should they be interested in doing so. Physical video games have been a hot topic lately, in large part due to concerns about games being delisted from digital storefronts. Sales of physical games have seen a steep decline over the years, but there are still lots of collectors that prefer them for this specific reason.
Nintendo owns a lot of different properties, but the Cruis'n series has always been a smaller one for the company. The original games were created in collaboration with Midway. Other than Cruis'n Velocity on GBA, all the games in the series were also released in arcades. Following Midway's closure in 2010, it seemed like the property might have been forgotten. Nintendo and Raw Thrills resurrected the series with Cruis'n Blast in 2016, with an initial release in arcades before the game was ported to Switch.
Several N64 games are playable through Nintendo Switch Online, but none of the Cruis'n games have been made available. Cruis'n Velocity also remains absent, which leaves fans of the series with fewer options than ever before. It's possible that the removal of Cruis'n Blast could be addressed, and the game reinstated. However, there's simply no way of knowing what will happen until there's some kind of official comment. The series might not have the same level of name recognition as many of Nintendo's biggest properties, but Cruis'n Blast was mostly well-received, which makes the game's removal all the more frustrating for fans.