Many may have missed it, as it is a game almost six years old and already in the libraries of most interested parties, however Octopath Traveler is no longer available for purchase on the Nintendo eShop.
Octopath Traveler, which in 2018 was launched exclusively on Switchis still regularly listed in the Nintendo eShop, but as you can also check by heading to the link provided above cannot be purchased. The classic “Buy in Nintendo eShop” button is not present, as regularly happens on the shop page of its sequel, Octopath Traveler II.
What happens? In the absence of official communication we cannot be sure, however the problem could be linked to change of publisher of the Switch version. As Gematsu pointed out, December 2023 there was a turnover between Nintendowhich in recent years had handled the distribution of Octopath Traveler on its console, and Square Enix, which is also the company producing the series.
The change of publisher of the Switch edition may therefore have caused some bureaucratic obstacles, which we imagine will be resolved in the short term. The stop to sales of Octopath Traveler on Nintendo eShop it could therefore only be temporary. We don't know when it will go back on sale, in the meantime we will continue to monitor the situation.