Kirby and The Forgotten Land is the biggest UK launch in the series’ history

Kirby and The Forgotten Land is the biggest launch in the history of the franchise in the UK.

According to GfK’s physical-only sales data published by GI.Biz, the game sold more than double that of the next best selling entry in the franchise, 2018’s Kirby Star Allies during its launch week.

With strong first-week sales, the game is now the fifth best selling game in franchise history in the UK, behind Kirby’s Adventure on the Wii. The game has already outsold Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush for Wii U.

GfK’s figures do not include digital sales of The Forgotten Land and most previous games would have had much lower boxed/digital sales splits (if they were available digitally at all).

According to the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association, Kirby’s Deam Land is currently the highest-selling entry in the franchise, having sold just over 5 million copies worldwide. Kirby’s other Nintendo Switch entry, Kirby Star Allies, had sold just under 3 million copies as of the end of 2020.

Kirby and The Forgotten Land has received a large marketing push worldwide, with US supermarket chain Target even decorating the large red balls that typically sit outside their stores in special Kirby-themed outfits.

Nintendo and HAL Laboratory struggled for around two decades to make a 3D Kirby game, a new interview has revealed.

In an ‘Ask the Developer’ interview published on Nintendo’s website, Kirby and the Forgotten Land general director Shinya Kumazaki explained the long road it took both companies to reach the first mainline 3D game in the series.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land has received widespread critical acclaim, with a current score of 85 on review aggregation site Metacritic.

VGC’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land review calls it “another accomplished charmer from HAL’s inhalatory hero,” adding: “The platforming won’t give Mario any restless nights, but the exuberant creativity around it makes for a bold, buoyant adventure.”