Switch's Digital Version Of Rime Won't Cost More Than Other Platforms

The beautiful puzzle-adventure game Rime is scheduled to launch for Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 26 as both a physical and digital release, but the game was originally set to cost $10 more on Switch than on other platforms.

Many Switch owners, naturally, weren't too pleased with the news, so publisher Grey Box has announced it is dropping the price of the digital version by $10, matching that of other consoles. While the physical release will still retail for $40, it will now come with a download code for the game's full soundtrack to offset the higher cost.

Grey Box explained on the game's official website that the reason the game costs more on Switch than on other consoles is due to "additional development, manufacturing, and publishing costs involved with that port." As Grey Box couldn't drop the price of the physical release without selling it at a loss, the publisher opted to include an extra incentive for those who purchase the game physically:

"The soundtrack is planned on being sold separately for $10 in the US (and equivalent prices elsewhere), and so the value you’re going to get out of this will be the same as somebody who purchased a different version of Rime, and then bought the soundtrack."

Rime isn't the only title to be affected by a "Switch tax"; the Switch release of Minecraft: Story Mode also retails for $10 more than the other console versions (via NeoGAF). There was also speculation that the Switch version of Lego City Undercover would require a mandatory install in order to keep the game's price down, though that turned out not to be the case.

Rime was originally announced in 2013 and was intended to be a PS4 exclusive. The game's beautiful art style and puzzle-based gameplay have drawn comparisons to classic adventure games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Ico.