So according to the kickstarter

Unfortunately, due to the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic, we’re expecting delays in preparing the US and EU physical versions. Backer rewards are being given the highest priority, but due to distribution issues, backers who have chosen physical versions of the game may receive it after general retail release. Our current estimate for the start of shipping rewards is late June. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience.

We know this is incredibly frustrating, and as a token of our apology for this, we will be providing all physical version backers with a Steam download code for The Wonderful 101: Remastered, so that they can play the game at the same time as backers who purchased the digital version.

Would anyone like dibs on my steam code?

I'd be more than happy to take this off your hands if it's still going? Let me know if you want anything for it, I was fully intending to buy the game anyway!

Been hit with a large customs charge for my physical switch copy of the remaster >.< extremely annoyed.

As far as I can see from the tracking info, my copy has been sat in London for a week now. Guess I may be in for the same customs fee.

That's such a ripoff, isn't it. I remember ordering a NIN shirt from their US store once and the tax costing me more than the shirt. I can see why it might be applicable for businesses importing bulk stock, but it absolutely shouldn't affect individual orders of the odd single item here and there. Outrageous really, I can't see the justification in it.

Strictly speaking you should be paying import duty on *everything* you import from the states, the fact that most of the time it’s not called out is them being lax. (I have a relative that works claims in a courier company, and regularly has to explain to people that yes, everything is subject to import duty unless it’s a gift or a product sample, and yes, if a company sends everything marked as gifts to get around that they will eventually be fined for it and...)

Expect to pay duty and be pleasantly surprised if you don’t, basically.

Yeah, I totally get it.

It's just a bit galling to have import tax levied on a Kickstarted item that can now be bought from UK websites for the same price as my Kickstarter tier. Kinda defeats the purpose of taking part in the Kickstarter if you end up paying more for the game and getting it later than if you'd just waited to buy it in stores. That's presumably not the way companies want their Kickstarter backers to feel when receiving their reward.

Of course, I understand that the company (Platinum Games, in this case) can't cover import taxes on top of the postage and game costs. The postage costs on the Kickstarter could have been increased to cover pre-paying the import tax, though that would've been extra legwork for those shipping the games out, and might've put people off supporting the project altogether.

It's a rough outcome all around, sadly, even if I understand the whys and wherefores.