Nintendo eShop
In the January 2015 Nintendo Direct, it was announced that the Wii version of "Donkey Kong Country Returns" and the other Wii games would be released for download on Wii U via Nintendo eShop. "Donkey Kong Country Returns" was made available on the Nintendo eShop on January 21, 2015 in Japan, January 22, 2015 in Europe, and January 23, 2015 in Australia and New Zealand. Between March 31 and June 30, 2016 inclusively, the digital re-release of "Donkey Kong Country Returns" was made available for North American Wii U users exclusively as a My Nintendo reward. The title has since been made commercially available on the North American Nintendo eShop starting September 22, 2016.