Nintendo Reveals ‘Breath of the Wild 2’ Release Window

During Nintendo’s E3 Direct conference, the company gave us a further look at the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel and confirmed a 2022 release window.

The trailer may not be long, but there’s thankfully a lot for us to unpack during its 1:30 runtime. The new footage from Breath of the Wild 2 opens with Link skydiving above a cluster of floating islands, a shot incredibly reminiscent of Skyward Sword. Producer Eiji Aonuma confirmed that parts of the game will take place in the sky, adding an additional element of exploration to the open-world action RPG. Hyrule seems to be littered with these flying ruins, and an arsenal of new tools and abilities look to let us master the land and sky.

Speaking of new tools and abilities, the trailer gives us a brief look at that as well. We see a glimpse of Link fighting off a new enemy with a flamethrower weapon, freeze an object with a stasis, and quickly travel to a floating island with a strange, water-like ability. It’s clear that the skies above Hyrule are going to play an important role in the sequel, but we’re unsure of what secrets will remain hidden within the clouds.

Other than the new ability, it’s unclear how we’ll be able to explore these new regions. Link still has his trusty glider from the first game, so maybe the Sheikah towers scattered around the map will serve as starting points for flight of some kind.

The end of the trailer shows an ominous shot of Hyrule Castle being suspended in the air by tendrils of malice. Along with the 2019 trailer, Nintendo seems to be teasing that Breath of the Wild 2 will have a much darker tone than the original game.

The Breath of the Wild sequel, first announced back during E3 2019, has had fans buzzing with speculation around the highly-anticipated game. Nintendo has kept relatively quiet about the sequel for the last two years but have reassured fans that development was progressing smoothly. Breath of the Wild 2 has some pretty big shoes to fill if it wants to exceed the expectations set by its predecessor.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received critical acclaim upon release and was praised for how it changed the Zelda formula with its open-world design. As of 2021, the game has sold nearly 24 million copies, making it the best-selling game in the franchise.

A release window of 2022 should hopefully allow Aonuma and the team to deliver an experience that lives up to the expectations of the original.

2021 marks the 35th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda, and Nintendo plans to celebrate with a series of releases. For fans who are eager to get their hands on another game, the HD remaster of the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword releases for Switch on July 16. During their E3 conference, Nintendo also announced Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity’s new DLC Pulse of the Ancients will be releasing on June 18, as well as a Legend of Zelda Game and Watch system releasing this November.