Long-time series producer, Eiji Aonuma, confirmed the delay in a new video showcasing a brief look at the Breath of the Wild sequel. In his statement, Aonuma apologized to those who were looking forward to seeing Breath of the Wild 2 come out later this year. Aonuma doubled down on the follow-up’s quest to upstage the original title by taking the adventure to “the skies above.” Unfortunately, because of the “expanded world” and the “wider variety of features” for players to enjoy, the entire development team will need a little longer to polish all the details. The delay is surprising, to say the least, but also not entirely out of the left field. Earlier in December, IGN co-founder, Peer Schneider, mentioned that players will have already gotten their hands on Breath of the Wild 2 in November. Obviously, this is no longer the case, with Nintendo delaying the game to Spring 2023. If it’s any consolation, the new release window lines up with when the first game hit the market. Fingers crossed, Nintendo will time the new Breath of the Wild game right around the original’s sixth anniversary next year in March. We might not have ranked Breath of the Wild as the best Zelda games, but it’s certainly the most influential modern title in the franchise. Breath of the Wild’s release on the Switch and Wii U back in 2017 gave the series a new avenue to explore with a vast open world that allowed players to venture into Hyrule at their own pace and methods. Since then, we’ve seen other open-world titles try to emulate what Breath of the Wild did, with the most recent of which arguably being Horizon Forbidden World and perhaps even Elden Ring. You could also argue that Nintendo only thought of switching up the Pokemon formula with Pokemon Legends: Arceus after seeing the commercial and critical success of Breath of the Wild. Nintendo confirmed the sequel to the award-winning 2017 game just two years after it came out. Since then, Nintendo hasn’t posted updates about the game, with the most recent one before the delay coming last year at E3 2021. Three years and one delay later, Nintendo still hasn’t confirmed the final name for Breath of the Wild 2, fearing that the full title will give away significant plot details. Speaking of different, Link’s sword doesn’t look like it’s the same Master Sword that he’s always held.For what it’s worth, Nintendo more than deserves the benefit of the doubt. Not to mention, a March-June 2023 window for the next Breath of the Wild game should give audiences more reasons to pick up Pokemon Scarlet and Violet later this year.
