Starlink on Switch reportedly shipping to some without a game inside

Ubisoft’s toys-to-life space shooter Starlink: Battle for Atlas launched earlier this week, but some excited buyers are finding themselves totally unable to play it. They’re not encountering any in-game glitches — instead, Best Buy has reportedly been shipping customers empty packages without the game inside.

Across Best Buy’s online listing for Starlink itself, as well as Reddit and Twitter, Nintendo Switch owners say that the game case and cartridge has been left out of the box. This seems to primarily affect the starter pack, which comes with toys of Star Fox’s Fox McCloud and his Arwing, as well as the hardware to use them in-game.

“To those who got the physical package: did your box have some kind of tape on the outside you had to remove before opening it?” asked a ResetEra user on Tuesday, when the game launched. “My starter pack just came in the mail from Best Buy and there was no wrapping or tape or anything on the outside of the box. The reason I ask is because I just opened it up to find my starter pack contains everything except for the game itself, so I’m thinking maybe someone opened it up ahead of time and stole the game.”

A similar story was shared on Reddit, in a thread called, “I can’t believe it, but I was sent Starlink without the game too.”

“The packaging is cut up with a razor blade and the case must’ve been forcibly removed through the plastic, something review copies noted with the game not coming with the starter kit,” the Redditor wrote, attaching a picture of what showed up to their home:

Imgur via Reddit

There are currently six one-star reviews on the Best Buy page for the game from people who were also affected. Each one says they’ve gotten an unsealed starter pack box, but without the game itself inside.

Some have had luck exchanging their incomplete boxes for full sets in stores, but online? Starlink on Switch is totally sold out.

We reached out to Best Buy customer service yesterday morning, and a rep told us we were the first to file a complaint or inquiry about the missing copies of Starlink. We’ve reached out to the company’s corporate office too, and will update accordingly.

In the meantime, the Best Buy Support Twitter is full of replies to people who demand to know what happened with their purchases.

Ubisoft is aware of the problem, according to a statement provided to Polygon.

“We’ve been made aware that a small amount of Starlink: Battle for Atlas Starter Packs have been shipped without a copy of the disc and/or cartridge included,” Ubisoft said. “We are currently investigating the scope of this issue and potential solutions. In the meantime, if anyone’s been affected by this issue, please tell them contact Ubisoft customer service at support.ubi.com and they will provide assistance.”