The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be a Nintendo Switch launch title after all. The fate of the game — the 19th main installment in the long-running series — was up in the air after reports of localization issues arose late last year. Those issues don’t appear to have delayed the game past the March 3rd arrival of Nintendo’s newest console.
Nintendo Switch and ‘Breath of the Wild’ both release on March 3rd
The company announced both the release date for the Switch and the availability of Breath of the Wild in a global live stream from Tokyo today. And in a tweet posted to the Nintendo of America Twitter account, the company announced that the game would also release on Wii U on March 3rd as well.
Not too much is known about the latest Zelda game. Originally announced as a late Wii U title back in 2013, the game didn’t receive an official name until E3 2016, when Nintendo brought a playable demo to the show floor and ignited a flurry of fan excitement with the title reveal.
What we do know indicates Breath of the Wild it will be a significant departure for the franchise. The game has an open-world design, not unlike some of the most popular role-playing games of the last few years. It also deviates from the Zelda formula with crafting and other survival features that add to the exploration and free-roaming feel.
Still, the game is sure to feature the titular princess in some fashion, as well as goddess-imbued pieces of a triangular artifact and a form of evil incarnate that will likely take the name Ganon, or the “Calamity Ganon” as it was phrased in the announcement trailer. Our last drip of information about the game came in the form of a pair of trailers released last month, which you can check out here.
