Nintendo has confirmed that the sequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild will no longer be launching on Nintendo Switch in 2022.
Commonly referred to as Breath of the Wild 2, the game was initially announced back in 2019 with a cinematic teaser trailer. Our first look at gameplay followed during a Nintendo Direct at E3 2021 and it was here that Nintendo announced the game was targeting a release date in 2022. Unfortunately, a brief development update video posted to Nintendo’s YouTube channel has confirmed Link's next adventure is being delayed.
In the video, Eiji Aonuma, a producer on the Legend of the Zelda series, explains that while Breath of the Wild 2 was initially aiming for a release in 2022, the decision has been made to extend the game’s development time. Breath of the Wild 2 is now scheduled to release in Spring 2023.
Aonuma said that the delay is necessary in order to make the “game’s experience something special” and implores fans to “please wait a while longer.” Nintendo had essentially reconfirmed that Breath of the Wild 2 was still on track to launch in 2022 last month, but clearly the situation has changed since and the decision to delay the game was subsequently made.
While news of a delay is always disappointing, in this case it’s hardly unexpected. We don’t even currently have an official name for the hotly-anticipated sequel, so it’s not a great surprise that its release isn’t imminent. The original Breath of the Wild also endured a lengthy development cycle, so this appears to be a case of history repeating itself.
Concrete details about Breath of the Wild 2 remain tightly under wraps, but we do have a few morsels of information. For starters, we know that in Breath of the Wild 2 the map of Hyrule will be expanded to include locations in the sky. We also know that Link will meet new allies, and enemies, and appears to have some form of mechanical arm that could be used as a tool in both puzzle solving and combat.
Having to wait even longer for the follow up to a game that we still rank as one of the best Nintendo Switch games is a tough pill to swallow. But there’s still plenty of upcoming games to be excited about in 2022 including God of War Ragnarok and Hogwarts Legacy.
