Nintendo confirmed earlier in the summer that a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is in development, and unleashed a trailer which painted a darker take on the Zelda universe.
The announcement was made during a Nintendo Direct conference and confirmed rumors related to the fact that the company was looking for a 3D level designer 2018. Breath of the Wild was a hit in 2017, offering a vast open-world design that brought a literal breath of fresh air to the franchise without losing the core elements which made it popular in the first place.
It won several Game of the Year awards, and it is deemed by many as one of the finest open-world RPG titles.
Possible release date
A possible release date remains shrouded in mystery as the trailer mentioned that the game was in development. Nintendo spent six years on the development of Breath of the Wild, but the task was delayed by some issues related to the physics engine used by the game.
At first sight, it seems that the same engine will be used for the sequel, and this may lead to a faster development cycle since most of the issues should have been fixed by now.
Nintendo has a great reason to accelerate the development of the title as the recently released remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is a hit among Nintendo Switch users. More than 3.13 million units were already bought, and the current trend infers that it could overtake titles like Super Mario Maker 2, Mario Party, and even Splatoon 2 in the following months.
Over 14 million units of the original The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were sold, a feat which makes it the fourth-most popular game for the Nintendo Switch. It is thought that the sequel will reach the same popularity.