Nintendo delays ‘Breath of the Wild’ sequel to 2023
We’re very sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Nintendo has confirmed that we’ll have to wait until next year for the highly-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In a clip released on Tuesday, the Japanese tech company confirmed that the release date of the still untitled sequel, which is generally called BOTW 2, has been pushed to 2023.
“We previously announced that we were aiming for a 2022 release for this game,” Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma said. “However, we have decided to extend our development time a bit and change the release to spring 2023. For those of you who have been looking forward to release this year, we apologize.”
“In order to make this game’s experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game so please wait a while longer,” he added.
Meanwhile, Aonuma also shared some information about the sequel, saying: “As previously announced, the adventure in this sequel will take place not just on the ground as in the previous game, but also in the skies above. However, the expanded world goes beyond that, and there will be an even wider variety of features you can enjoy, including new encounters and new gameplay elements.”
Up until now, Nintendo remains mum on the title of the eagerly-awaited sequel, leaving fans clueless about the possible storyline of BOTW 2.
In an interview with IGN last year, Nintendo’s Bill Trinen shared why they are keeping the game’s title under wraps.
“As for why we’re holding back on the name, you’ll just have to stay tuned because, obviously, Zelda names are kind of important," he said. "Those subtitles… they start to give little bits of hints about maybe what’s going to happen.”
He added: “(Breath of the Wild 2) is going to be shorthand and it’s natural for people to want to find a shorthand way to frame it. We’re still calling it the sequel to Breath of the Wild.”
Nintendo previously announced that the sequel will be released sometime in 2022. The announcement was also accompanied with the game’s first gameplay footage, which provided players their first look at the beautiful open world of BOTW 2.
In the trailer, we see Link free falling and gliding through the skies, confirming that the upcoming sequel will include adventures above the sprawling environment of Hyrule.
The trailer also revealed glimpses of Link's new powers, including what appears to be a flamethrower and a puddle of water that allows him to pass through solid objects.
Aside from that, there are also sequences which featured some of Link's enemies from the first BOTW game such as the Bokoblins and the Stone Talus.
First released in 2017 on Nintendo Switch, the original The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is considered by many as one of the best games of all time. The action-adventure game later received two DLCs: The Master Trials and The Champions' Ballad.