While Nintendo is no stranger to using third-party engines to power its games, it typically refrains from doing so with major releases. That doesn’t appear to be the case with the upcoming Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, which reportedly will be using Unreal Engine 5 to power its whimsical visuals.
An initial post from Genki_JPN on Twitter highlighted a Japanese display box for the game that has the Unreal logo plastered on the back. That’s not unexpected considering the previous Yoshi game, Yoshi’s Crafted World, used Unreal Engine 4 on Switch back in 2019. It could have meant that Mysterious Book would also run on UE4, but UniversoNintendo editor Felipe Lima noted some specific licenses that are included with the game’s pre-load from the eShop. They all point to plugins that run exclusively on UE5.
What does this all mean? Well, for one, I think it highlights how Unreal Engine 5 is compatible with the NintendoSwitch 2. That means we could wind up seeing a lot more current-gen ports to the console that would otherwise be impossible. It also likely means that developer Good-Feel is behind the game as it developed the last two Yoshi games, one of which was on Unreal tech.
We won’t know for certain until next week when Yoshi and the Mysterious Book releases on May 21st, 2026.
Check out more Yoshi content
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book trailer shows Tail Flick move, Mr. E creatures, and Bowser Jr.
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book gets rather beefy preview from IGN with 15 minutes of footage
Yoshi and the Mysterious Book gets May 21st release date, new trailer revealed
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
