Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 is coming to the Nintendo Switch, with the title in development right now. And…that’s pretty much all we know for certain about the BoTW 2 sequel. The follow-up to the classic Wii U and Nintendo Switch title was first unveiled as a surprise announcement at the end of the Nintendo Direct aired during E3 2019.
But since then we’ve hardly heard a peep from the House of Mario about when Zelda fans will be getting Breath of the Wild 2 in their hands.
The most recent official announcement came during the reveal of Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity.
Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma introduced the upcoming musou title which is being developed by Nintendo and Koei Tecmo.
And besides announcing the Dynasty Warriors-style game, Aonuma-san also gave a brief update about how work is coming along on Zelda Breath of the Wild 2.
The Zelda director said: “Regarding the sequel, in order to make the vast world you enjoyed exploring in the original game even more impressive, the team is working hard on its development, so you’ll have to wait a bit longer before we can provide more updates.”
Given that Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity is out in November, and judging by what Aonuma said, it seems a 2020 release date for Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 is out of the question.
But what about a 2021 release date? Well, there’s reason to believe that we could be seeing the Breath of the Wild sequel drop then. The reason for this is rumours have surfaced once again that Ninty are planning on launching a Switch Pro, and that the souped-up 4K Switch will be arriving in 2021.
The news comes courtesy of reliable source Bloomberg, who said Nintendo is asking developers to make their games 4K-ready. The ever-reliable Takashi Mochizuki wrote: “The introduction of a more affordable Switch Lite variant in late 2019 helped broaden the machine’s potential audience and Nintendo is making preparations for an upgraded Switch model and a beefed-up games lineup for 2021.
“Several outside game developers, speaking anonymously as the issue is private, said that Nintendo has asked them to make their games 4K-ready, suggesting a resolution upgrade is on its way. A Nintendo spokesman declined to comment.”
So, from the looks of it we could be getting the long-rumoured Switch Pro in 2021. But what impact does that have on the Breath of the Wild 2 release date? Well, Nintendo has form in launching a brand new Zelda game alongside their latest, greatest and most shiny new console.
The remake of Link’s Awakening was released alongside the Switch Lite, while Zelda Breath of the Wild was a day one title for the Nintendo Switch back in 2017. Link, Zelda and Hyrule have been going hand-in-hand with the Switch this gen, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Breath of the Wild 2 launch alongside the Switch Pro.
And if that’s the case then we could be getting BoTW 2 in 2021. But it hasn’t only been this gen that Nintendo has released a Zelda game alongside a new console. Back in 2006 Twilight Princess was a launch title for the Nintendo Wii. Like Breath of the Wild, this was a cross-gen title – with Twilight Princess available on the Wii and Nintendo GameCube. Breath of the Wild, meanwhile, was available on the Nintendo Switch and Wii U.
Of course, we’ll have to wait for official confirmation from Ninty before we start planning to book time off work next year for the launch of Breath of the Wild 2.
But besides the latest Switch Pro leak, there’s another good reason to hope for BoTW 2 in 2021.
Next year the Legend of Zelda series celebrates its 35th anniversary.
We’ve seen how much Nintendo has done to celebrate Mario’s 35th anniversary this year, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if there are big plans in store for the Zelda series too.
And what better way to mark over three decades of Hyrulian adventures than the release of Breath of the Wild 2 as the headline act for the anniversary festivities.
Fingers crossed too Ninty will release HD remasters of classic Zelda games for the Switch too, we’re desperate for a Wind Waker port.
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