Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove is now set for release in March

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

Toejam and Earl: Back in the Groove, a new tale about a pair of alien weirdos who crash-land on Earth and find success as a rap duo (which I guess seemed like a reasonable premise in 1991) has been scheduled for release on March 1, 2019. And if you're thinking, "Wait a minute, I thought it was supposed to be out this year," give yourself a pat on the back, for you are correct. 

The 2019 date is a delay, which comes on top of a delay to 2018 that was announced in late 2017. Humanature Studios co-founder Greg Johnson said at the time that the team "tried super hard to get ToeJam and Earl: Back in the Groove out in 2017," but that it needed to "push into 2018" to get the job done properly. I reacted with cautious hope that it would be a relatively short delay unless "things go really sideways," and apparently that little slice of pessimism was not unfounded. 

Despite the caution that naturally follows multiple delays, this one feels reasonably firm, if not rock solid. The PS4 version is now up for prerorder on the PlayStation Store (the Steam release is still wishlist-only, however), and the developers said that a new Kickstarter survey will go out next week, giving backers a one-time-only opportunity to exchange their PC pledges for a console version, for an extra $5.   

Why would you want to do that? Considering the project launched five years ago, it seems plausible some folks might have different platform preferences, at this point. The release date announcement specifies all platforms, so while the game is currently only available for PS4, it should be landing on the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on the same day.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.