Ever since the trailer debuted at last year's E3The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild 2 has not only become one of the most highly-anticipated new games in the Nintendo Switch's future lineup, but also one of the most exciting upcoming releases in the entire gaming world. Its predecessor was a monumental success after all, with Breath of the Wild flipping the franchise's staple gameplay on its head by experimenting with a giant open world and a series of engaging new mechanics.

However, it seems as though the highly-anticipated sequel may be further off the fans are currently hoping, with a new earning's call at Nintendo seeming to imply that Link and Zelda's newest adventure is still over a year away. With many currently hoping that the game would get a surprise release date this fall, it seems Nintendo has different plans for the next entry in the franchise, which will no doubt be a major disappointment for long-time fans.

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According to reports, the earning's call saw Nintendo discussing its plans for 2020, sharing with investors what releases will be making their way to Nintendo Switch during the fiscal year, which ends during March 2021. A number of high profile names were mentioned in the call - including Animal Crossing, Xenoblade Chronicles, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Pokemon Sword and Shield - however, Breath of the Wild 2 wasn't one of them. Its absence seems to indicate that players won't be getting hold of the game until next year or beyond, meaning the popular franchise will be on the backburner for the time being.

zelda breath of the wild 2 release date

It's worth mentioning, however, that a number of big names didn't make it into the earnings call, including Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4While this could likely mean that Nintendo is taking something of a break this year, especially with COVID-19 likely ruining a lot of the company's plans, it could also mean that the earnings call wasn't highlighting games that are yet to receive firm release dates. While it's not worth relying on that possibility being entirely true, it does seem strange that Nintendo has such a clean slate of games going into the fall.

For those not acquainted with the sequel, Breath of the Wild 2 appears to be taking the series down a much darker path than its relatively light-hearted predecessor. Leaks have claimed the game will play around with some brand new ideas within the same map of Breath of the Wild, with the player supposedly clearing the map out of Ganon's corruption through the aid of some innovational mechanics. Hopefully, it'll break new ground in a similar way to its excellent prequel.

Breath of the Wild 2 is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch.

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