What’s Taking BotW 2 So Long?

So. Breath of the Wild 2 was delayed. Again.

While it’s not good news for those who’ve been stuck in the waiting room for over four years now, producer Eiji Aonuma’s less-than-promising apology video might actually be telling the truth. There might just be “something special” that is special enough to wait another year for (at the time of writing). This waiting time isn’t completely boring, though: there are plenty of things you can do to pass the time, like revisiting 2019’s Link’s Awakening and exploring BotW’s extensions.

What Are We Waiting For?

There are lots of possibilities of what could be taking Nintendo’s development team all the extra time. Below is a list of big additions to the sequel:

• story adjustments, with cutscenes and gameplay changed because of it
  • building off of the AoC timeline instead of BotW?
• virtual reality?
• larger maps spanning beyond Hyrule, possibly including Twilight Princess‘s Ordon province
• a better physics engine to accommodate the different landscapes and the land in the sky
• better bosses
• taking recent feedback from testers and the audience
• changing subtle things that technically make no sense

In the Meantime: Old Zeldas on the Switch?

BotW 2’s delay also might be to clear a time period for the rereleases of old Zelda games… on the Switch. Especially because of the Wii U’s shop closure next year, beloveds like Twilight Princess will be gone forever if not transferred to the Switch! BotW 2 might just be pushed out so that they can develop Switch-friendly classics in the meantime. Who knows, the revised Link’s Awakening came out during the waiting period. It might just be a pioneer for other rereleases.

While You Wait…

So… there are no planned game releases to fill the waiting period, so what will satisfy our thirsts for Zelda? Here are some suggestions that will probably take you as long as half the time.

• Play the Switch version of Link’s Awakening if you haven’t already, and if you have, consider replaying it. (It is insanely adorable and fun.)
• Replay BotW to refresh your memory of the storyline and characters, or load from your last save point, find all 13 Captured Memories, and then face Ganon. You will unlock a secret post-credit scene if you do.
• If you’re a hack-and-slash fan, play BotW’s prequel, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Then if BotW 2 picks up from that, you won’t be left with no clue what’s happening.
• Play around with some fun glitches in BotW – there are lots of demonstration videos on YouTube.
• Get the Champions’ Ballad expansion pass, or, if you’re a machinist, even get Master Mode.
• Completionists, find all 900 Korok Seeds and finish all 120 shrines if you dare.
• Visit each of Hyrule’s hidden minigames.