Released on April 16 as a Switch exclusive, Tomodachi Life: A Dream Life has been a resounding success. But it may well be that Nintendo actually finished work on its life simulation game quite some time ago.

In fact, the German rating board USK notes on the game’s page that it got rated on May 20, 2025, which would suggest that development was already complete at that time.

Thus, Nintendo may have kept Tomodachi Life: A Dream Life under wraps to release it at the right moment.