Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 release date, trailer, pre-order and story

What is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 release date? The sequel to Breath of the Wild is still in development, and you can find all the news, trailers and pre-order information here.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 release date will mark one of the few times a Zelda game has been given a direct sequel (as opposed to a totally new story in the Hyrule timeline with a different Link, as is usually the case).

Fans have been eager to find out more about the game ever since Nintendo first confirmed that it was in development.

The game will be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch and may just be the most eagerly anticipated Switch game of all, so here’s all the information we have on it so far.

Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 release date

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 was previously scheduled to arrive in 2022.

However, Nintendo confirmed in March that the game won’t be ready by the end of the year, and has been delayed.

Because of this, the game will now be released in Spring 2023.

No exact date has been given yet, but it appears when the exact Breath of the Wild 2 release date is confirmed, we’ll update this article accordingly.

Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 trailer

A brief teaser trailer for Breath of the Wild 2 was shown during the E3 show in 2019.

This showed Link and Zelda encountering a grotesque mummified creature, which came to life, followed by the simple message: “The sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now in development.”

We wouldn’t get any more information on the game for two years, with a new trailer appearing during E3 2021 and showing some of the sequel in action.

You can see that E2 2021 trailer here:

Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 final name

Although most people have been referring to the new Zelda game as ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2’, that isn’t actually the game’s title.

In fact, Nintendo hasn’t even been calling it Breath of the Wild 2, that’s just something the game’s fanbase has been using for now.

At the time of writing, Nintendo is still simply referring to the game as “Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”, with the full title to come nearer release.

A Nintendo spokesperson said last year that the company was choosing not to reveal the proper title of the game because it contains hints about the plot.

So, once Nintendo is ready to tell us more about the game’s storyline, it might be ready to tell us the final title.

Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 story

Nintendo is keeping its cards close to its chest about the Breath of the Wild 2 story, but the two trailers that have been released so far should give at least some clues as to what’s going on this time.

In the first 2019 trailer, Link and Zelda explore a huge underground cavern that spirals down beneath Hyrule Castle. Mysterious magic energy seeps up from below into an evil-looking mummified corpse. The corpse comes to life and the whole castle starts to shake.

The wispy black and purple tentacles that snake through the cave could be related to the Malice that infected the world in Breath of the Wild, so once again there may well be some kind of corruption spreading over the land.

Further reading

Nintendo patents shed light on new Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 abilities

Free falling, rewind and passing through ceilings are all detailed in the new filings

And whose is the evil-looking corpse? With its mane of hair and forehead-mounted medallion, it has some resemblance to Calamity Ganon, the arch-villain of the first game. Might this be some kind of past incarnation?

As for the power bringing him back to life, some have noted that the colours and runic symbols around it call back to the Twili in Twilight Princess. Whether or not that’s the case, we wonder if necromancy and resurrection will be a big theme. Might the underground be a world of the dead?

Nintendo has suggested that the tone of this game will be a little darker, and both trailers certainly back that up with their eerie backwards music and creepy monsters.

Will Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 have co-op?

Ever since that first 2019 trailer was shown with Link and Zelda exploring together, fans have been wondering if this was a hint at a possible co-op mode.

In a 2019 interview Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma wouldn’t be drawn on whether the game would support co-op (or whether Zelda would be a playable character) but he didn’t outright deny it either.

“It’s kind of interesting that you bring that up,” he told IGN, “because in Breath of the Wild, you see Zelda and Link together often too, so to go straight into the thought of co-op is very interesting to me.”

He also told Kotaku he “can’t say” how many playable characters the game will feature.

If Breath of the Wild 2 did have co-op, it wouldn’t be the first time the series has featured it. Four Swords on the GBA, Four Swords Adventures on the GameCube and Tri Force Heroes on the 3DS all revolved around co-op play.

Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 pre-order information

Several retailers are already taking pre-orders for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2.

Here’s a selection of what’s currently on offer:

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 – US pre-orders

• Pre-order Breath of the Wild 2 at Best Buy

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 – UK pre-orders

• Pre-order Breath of the Wild 2 at GAME
• Pre-order Breath of the Wild 2 at Argos
• Pre-order Breath of the Wild 2 at ShopTo
• Pre-order Breath of the Wild 2 at Base.com

For more The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 news head over to VGC’s game page.