Labour promised to "

But some of those who pre-ordered the Switch 2 through Game will now not be able to get their hands on it on its release date."We understand how disappointing this is, especially for those who have been eagerly awaiting their order,"

There has been a furious reaction from those affected, withcalling the situation "outrageous."Game did not give any reason why the pre-orders were cancelled. The BBC has approached it for comment.

In its social media post it says it is "currently working hard to reinstate as many affected pre-orders as possible."The Switch 2 has already attracted some controversy from fans who questioned the price of some of its games - with a boxed edition of Mario Kart World coming in at £74.99.

But this price appears not to have impacted the initial sales of the hardware, with most retailers now unable to take on new pre-orders so close to its launch.

Gamers who no longer have a pre-order may consider turning to the return of the midnight launch, which used to be part-and-parcel of game releases but has become far less common in recent years.One of the senior-most officials in India's home ministry who oversaw anti-Maoist operations, MA Ganapathy, holds a different view.

"At its core, the Maoist movement was an ideological struggle - but that ideology has lost traction, especially among the younger generation. Educated youth aren't interested anymore," says Mr Ganapathy."With Basavaraju neutralised, morale is low. They're on their last leg."

The federal home ministry'snotes a 48% drop in violent incidents in Maoist-related violence - from 1,136 in 2013 to 594 in 2023 - and a 65% decline in related deaths, from 397 to 138.