Just when fans were anticipating some juicyBreath of the Wild 2news, Nintendo announced a brand new prequel of the same story,Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. It wasn’t what fans were expecting, but still, many fans are getting geared up based on what the trailer has to offer.
But what does this mean forBreath of the Wild’s release date? With next year being the 35th anniversary of theLegend of Zeldafranchise and withHyrule Warriorscoming in November, it’ll likely be a while before any news is dropped. Fans shouldn’t expect anything out of this year, in other words.
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Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Rather than following the same gameplay style asBreath of the Wild, Nintendo made the interesting decision to createAge of Calamityas a prequel toHyrule Warriors.This will enable the players to experience the events of 100 years beforeBreath of the Wildnot onlythrough Link’s eyes but the four champions as well. And what really gets some amped up for the game is the promise that Zelda will finally once again be a playable character, and based on the trailer, the story seems to revolve around the Princess and her sealing magic quite a bit.
WhileBreath of the Wildtook many risks by changing up a tried and true formula seen in decades of games, perhapsAge of Calamityis an even bigger one byintroducing aBotW-style Princess Zeldaas a playable character. Many fans are hoping for the opportunity to play as her inBreath of the Wild 2as well, and this creates the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to experiment with her. WithHyrule Warriors, the developers can gauge fan reaction to Zelda’s playstyle and mechanics and decide how to proceed. Her balance may be different from Link’s if Nintendo decides to diverge from her style seen in the originalHyrule Warriorsand focus on her magical abilities.
Additionally, theevents depicted inAge of Calamitywill further expand on the events recounted through Link’s memories inBreath of the Wild. Again, this presents Nintendo with the opportunity to judge and calibrate aspects ofBreath of the Wild 2based on fan reaction,not only with story, but with gameplay elements as well. If fans decide they loved a certain mechanic, Nintendo could choose to reprise it in the sequel. If they hate something, Nintendo knows not to include it.
Legend of Zelda’s 35th Anniversary
Following only one year behindSuper Mario,The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary will be next year in 2021. Many fans have speculated that Nintendo will likely offer the same treatment ofZeldagames, similar to the release ofSuper Mario All-Starsand3D All-Stars, and unveil popular classics from the franchise into ports and packages. Word of Wii U ports likeWind WakerHDandTwilight PrincessHDas well asaSkyward SwordSwitch remasterhave already been around the rumor mill thanks to industry insiders.
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However, rumors of remasters and ports of severalMariofranchise titles had been circulating throughout most of 2020, and it was only in September that Nintendo decided to announce a ton ofSuper Mariogames coming to the Switch. Furthermore,Super Mario 3D All-Starswas only announced about two weeks ahead of its release date. It’s possible that this is a sales tactic being used by Nintendo to create more hype off the bat, as is the idea of only having3D All-Starsplayable until the end of March 2021. So if Nintendo decides to celebrateZelda’s 35th anniversary as well, fans shouldn’t expect the Japanese developer the announce anything this year. The 35th anniversary is in February though, so it really depends on how closely it is meant to line up.
Breath of the Wildwas originally geared for a 2020 release but was pushed back to next year, and it’s likely that, unless Covid-19 restrictions strike, the game won’t be delayed that far back. However, becauseBotWwas such a huge success among both new and old fans, Nintendo is likely planning on playing it safe by usingAge of Calamityto gauge reception and will use the extra development time to make adjustments to the sequel to perfect it.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamitywill release on July 13, 2025, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
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