Anyone who has followed the series since the NES days knows that Zelda rarely repeats the same world in consecutive games. That is why the surprise was big on June 11, 2019: Nintendo closed its E3 Nintendo Direct presentation with a short teaser confirming that a direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the open-world game released in 2017 alongside the Nintendo Switch, was in production.
At the time, the game had no name, no date and not many details. Nintendo only confirmed that it was a sequel and that development was already under way. That Direct was packed with announcements, from Animal Crossing: New Horizons to Pokémon Sword and Shield and the Link’s Awakening remake, but the Zelda closer stole the show.
The team was also known: the game would be made by the same Nintendo EPD production group, with Hidemaro Fujibayashi as director and Eiji Aonuma as producer, the same people responsible for Breath of the Wild. Later, Nintendo said the idea was born from a good problem: the plans for additional content for Breath of the Wild grew so much that they did not fit in a DLC and became a new game.
What came next
The game reappeared at E3 2021 with gameplay, story elements and a 2022 release window. By March 2022 it was already finished, but Nintendo preferred to delay it by a year to refine it. The official name, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and the 12 May 2023 date were revealed in September 2022. The sequel added islands floating in the sky, a huge underground called the Depths and Zonai devices to build vehicles and contraptions. Acclaim was broad, with criticism only for the frame rate. The game sold more than 10 million copies in three days and reached 22.71 million by June 2026, one of the best-selling Switch games.
Where to buy
Source: Nintendo.
Zé Cartucho
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