Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is finally here and fans are diving into Breath of the Wild’s beautiful world in grand Musou fashion. So far, the early impressions of Age of Calamity have been fairly positive, though it seems the Switch’s limited performance capabilities handicap the game in some instances.
Now it seems those positive impressions are translating into some impressive sales reports. According to the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity’s official Japanese Twitter account, the game is the best selling Musou game ever made.
According to early sales reports, Age of Calamity’s sales have already smashed the previous best-selling Musou games across the board. Koei Tecmo confirmed in a report to Famitsu that Age of Calamity shipped 3 million units worldwide during its opening weekend. For those who may not be familiar with the Musou genre of games, it is simply the Japanese name for Koei Tecmo’s trademark Warriors game series. Koei Tecmo’s Musou games are iconic for a handful of series staples, like it’s frenetic action-packed combat and the hoards of enemies that players hack and slash their way through.
Though the traditional Warriors games haven’t made enormous waves over in the West, Koei Tecmo’s recent partnership with Nintendo has been a huge boon. The first Hyrule Warriors title released on the Nintendo Wii U did as well as one could hope for on a console with a lackluster install base, but the game’s eventual Switch port did much better. Still, early sales reports confirmed that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was outpacing the original Hyrule Warriors in the UK by over 300 percent. That’s an incredibly impressive number which only means good news for both Hyrule Warriors and Breath of the Wild.
Still, despite some incredible initial sales reports, there’s always the possibility that Koei Tecmo’s Hyrule Warriors series ends with Age of Calamity. In a recent interview with IGN, Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma noted that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity could be the last Hyrule Warriors game. Aonuma’s statement made it sound like the proper circumstances would have to align to make the Hyrule Warriors series a long running staple of Nintendo’s lineup. However, these initial sales reports might do a lot to change Nintendo’s mind about possible sequels.
While Aonuma is the Legend of Zelda series producer, he wasn't the one who had the initial idea for Age of Calamity. In that same interview with IGN, Aonuma confirmed that the idea for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity was initially thought up by Breath of the Wild’s director Hidemaro Fujibayashi. With any luck, Breath of the Wild 2’s story might make way for more opportunities for a Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity sequel. The title certainly has the momentum to make that a reality.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is out now on Nintendo Switch.