The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 has been delayed into the following year due to ever-surmounting content and the bold ambition behind the project. The sequel's producer, Eiji Aonuma, announced the abrupt change in a video released on Tuesday, March 29th, highlighting the finished title's growing expansion and (pun intended) breadth. Breath of the Wild's sequel will now officially debut in Spring 2023.
Aonuma relays his apologies for the alteration and explains that the open world has only become even more detailed and massive in its continued development. In his own words:
"For those of you who have been looking forward to a release this year, we apologize. 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 gameplay elements. 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."
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Arguably among the most anticipated experiences of 2022, the still-unnamed Zelda project has gargantuan shoes to fill in its previous iteration. Released in 2017, Breath of the Wild no sooner became one of the most beloved games of the generation, stealing Game of the Year and landing on multiple greatest of all-time lists. It became a key driver in Nintendo Switch sales, reaching the fourth slot of best-selling games on the console as of December 2021 with over 25 million copies in the wind.
To say its sequel would be met with incredible hype would be an understatement, as upon its announcement in 2019, the return of Link amongst a whole new front proved to ignite the gaming world like wildfire. The E3 trailer for Breath of the Wild's sequel now sits at a total of 14 million views, with speculation ever-surmounting on where the series could go next and what exactly is up with Link's arm.
More theories can now be had with additional footage shown during Aonuma's delay announcement. All but a few seconds show Link unsheathing a mystical blade, the likes of which are reminiscent of Master Sword, with his newly-acquired artificial appendage in full view.
Nintendo has likewise been incredibly coy with the final version's namesake. The company has consistently relayed that it is "holding back" due to the title of Breath of the Wild 2 being too revealing. Various rumors have cropped up since, pointing to a multitude of different iterations, but the most recent leak seems quite convincing: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of Duality. Given Aonuma's words explaining the game will take place in both the sky and on land, prove it will be a duality of some sort, but this is all speculation, and the name could very well be changed before official release.
It's clear that although upsetting to fans, the delay will only prove to bring out the best in Nintendo's final product. Hopefully, it will diminish the need for crunch long-term, given more time, as the rushed-based ecosystem of video game development has become a major contention in the industry and needs to be amended. The push will also prove to delay its Game of the Year access into 2023, allowing Elden Ring, Starfield, and the God of War sequel more wiggle room amid the awards ceremony.
