Of course, we’re not forgetting that COVID is a huge factor here that likely extended the game’s development time by some margin- but even accounting for that, six years is a hell of a lot of time to develop a game that, on paper, is supposed to be an iterative sequel. If Breath of the Wild 2 does indeed launch in Spring 2023 as currently planned, the six years separating it and the original BotW will be the longest gap ever between two mainline Zelda releases, exceeding the five and a half year gap between Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild. Of course, the realities of modern AAA development mean that the turnover was never going to be as quick as it could be in those days, but given the fact that this was a game that originally started life as a Breath of the Wild expansion, many expected that the gap between the two releases wouldn’t be more than 3-4 years at most.
Much like Majora’s Mask, an iterative sequel to Ocarina of Time, launched very quickly after its predecessor, it was expected that Breath of the Wild 2 would do the same. When the game was announced, for all intents and purposes, it was meant to be an iterative sequel to its predecessor, using much of the same work and assets, with the first game’s Hyrule map also being repurposed for the sequel.
There’s a laundry list of examples that prove that beyond a doubt, which, of course, includes several aforementioned Zelda games as well.Įven so, there’s some merit to that thought specifically where Breath of the Wild 2 is concerned. Delays are, by their very nature, a sign that a game’s production isn’t moving along the way it was supposed to for one reason or the other, but while that is definitely true, there is very rarely a direct link between a delay and a game disappointing at launch. The biggest question that instantly popped into most people’s minds as soon as the delay was officially announced was- should we be concerned? Now, as natural as that is as a reaction to a game getting delayed, it isn’t always rooted in rationality and precedence. For most Zelda fans, the delay of Breath of the Wild’s sequel isn’t entirely surprising, even if it is a little disappointing- but even so, it raises a few questions. That’s happened time and time again with a consistency that’s become sort of predictable by now- Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild were all delayed, which means that four mainline console Zelda games in a row have now been pushed back from their originally intended releases. The next mainline The Legend of Zelda game has been delayed.