Kirby and the Forgotten Land online mode potentially leaked by ratings board

Kirby and the Forgotten Land may have online elements if a recent rating from the Australian Classification website means anything.

Originally announced during the September Nintendo Direct, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first Kirby game to be released since Kirby Star Allies in 2018. The 3D platformer is due to release in Spring 2022 and so some classification boards have already begun rating the game in time for its release.

According to the Australian Classification website, Kirby and the Forgotten Land was officially classified in Australia yesterday - October 11 - where it received a PG rating due to "mild fantasy themes and violence, online interactivity." The part of this rating that has got us thinking though is the "online interactivity" note.

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Although "online interactivity" could be relating to a plethora of things, it’s possible that it could also mean some kind of online co-op element or online mode. Since we’ve only seen one trailer for this game so far, it’s difficult to figure out how the game could make use of online features, especially as it appears to be a single-player 3D platformer set in a post-apocalyptic world, (which gives us serious Super Mario Odyssey meets The Last of Us 2 vibes).

There had been inklings of a new Kirby game after it was revealed a few months back by game director Shinya Kumazaki that the "next stage" of Kirby is in development. This coupled with the fact the official Kirby website started receiving random modifications just a month prior Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s announcement made the game's eventual reveal a little less surprising, but this new potential online mode has peaked our curiosity once more.

Just can’t wait to play as the adorable pink blob again? Find out why Kirby and the Forgotten Land feels like the beginning of a new era for the Kirby series.

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After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.