Marvelous USA president Ken Berry has shared a new update regarding the limited Earth Dancer Edition of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma on Nintendo Switch. Due to delays involving the import of special sensu folding fans in the set, this version of the game will arrive shortly after launch. However, there’s now a clearer timeline in place.
Berry explained that a significant drop in tariffs on goods from China this week allowed the team to expedite shipping for the folding fans via air. The first available flight is scheduled for this weekend. From there, the shipment must clear U.S. customs, be delivered to an assembly house for hand-packing, and then trucked to a warehouse for final distribution to retail partners. If all goes smoothly, the Earth Dancer Edition should be available approximately two weeks after the game’s official June 5 launch date.
Due to this progress, Marvelous has reopened pre-orders for both the Earth Dancer Edition and the Earth Dancer Accessory Set via its online store. While the exact arrival date remains subject to logistical hurdles, the team aims to minimize delays and will share more specific delivery info once confirmed.
You can view Berry’s full message below:
There are still a lot of unknown variables, but with a significant drop in tariffs on goods from China finally happening this week, I wanted to provide another update on the status of the ‘sensu’ folding fans that had been delaying the assembly of our limited ‘Earth Dancer Edition’ of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma on Nintendo Switch.
Though the tariffs are still significant and pose a hefty unanticipated expense to us, it is thankfully less than what it would have been so we are taking this opportunity to fly over the fans from China as quickly as possible. The earliest flight we could book them on is this weekend, and upon arriving into the US they would then need to clear customs before being trucked to our assembly house in another state, where they would be hand-assembled into the ‘Earth Dancer Edition’ (and the ‘Earth Dancer Accessory Set’). Once completed, the units would then have to be trucked to our warehouse in yet another state, where they will be staged and then shipped to all our retail partners across the Americas.
If everything goes smoothly, our best estimate is that these units will be available about 2 weeks after the official June 5th launch date. This date could slip later if there’s a huge backlog at customs or some other unforeseen obstacle, but we are also working diligently to see if this can be sped up at all as we know even a day or two makes a huge difference when it comes to people playing a game they had been anticipating for a long time.
With this new development we are reopening pre-orders on our online store for both the ‘Earth Dancer Edition’ for Nintendo Switch as well as the ‘Earth Dancer Accessory Set’ as we can finally give a more confident delivery window to allow people to make an informed decision. We once again apologize for the delay, and want to thank everyone for your support and understanding through these volatile times. We will share a new exact date once we are able to confirm it.
Upcoming Release – Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
The setting of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the titular Azuma, which occurs in the eastern lands that were struck by a terrible calamity known as the Celestial Collapse. The gods of nature vanished, causing the land to wither and the people to suffer from the Blight. Players will restore this land to its glory as an Earth Dancer.
The male and female protagonists are Subaru and Kaguya. They are variations of Earthmates, Earth Dancers who save the world through dance. Parasols, drums, swords, and more will be usable alongside bows and talismans. To clarify, the parasols and drums are non-combat tools.
Players can also anticipate cultivating relationships with the locals, recruiting them to your side in combat, or helping them manage the villages across fully-voiced scenarios. Plus, romances will be available for gods and mortals.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin Collaboration DLC was confirmed.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will be released on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC on June 5, 2025.