Fans eager for more details on Breath of the Wild 2 (Tears of the Kingdom) may be in luck, as a clue in regards to the long-awaited Nintendo Switch sequel's release date may have just dropped.
Speaking on episode 591 of the Nintendo Voice Chat Podcast, IGN co-founder Peer Schneider made an interesting comment about the highly anticipated Zelda title, that may have narrowed down the sequel's current 2022 release window.
Following a discussion about the lack of open-world games currently available on Switch, Schneider commented that this could change "next November when we're playing Breath of the Wild 2", perhaps suggesting that the IGN boss has a better idea of the game's release window than most and that we could be getting our hands on BOTW 2 in November 2022.
While the quote itself carries some significance largely due to its source, it's equally - if not more likely - that Schneider was making an offhand comment about a likely release window based on official information from Nintendo that we know so far.
We do know that Nintendo is aiming to launch Breath of the Wild 2 on Nintendo Switch sometime in 2022, after its E3 2021 gameplay trailer teased the release window. Plus, with plenty of Nintendo titles sprinkled throughout 2022 already, including Splatoon 3 and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, a release window hovering around the holidays makes sense for what is arguably the biggest gun in Nintendo's holster.
Just how likely is a November 2022 release date?
While November 2022 seems like a realistic release window for Breath of the Wild 2, we'd advise against getting your hopes up too high. 2022 is merely a target for the game, and is always subject to change. That's rarely been more true for a series like The Legend of Zelda.
The series as a whole has been quite accustomed to delays, so we wouldn't be shocked in the least to see Breath of the Wild 2's release pushed back into 2023. Perhaps March of that year to line up with the Switch launch title's sixth (sixth!) anniversary.
Release dates for the series, in general, are fairly difficult to predict, as there's no one month where the vast majority of Zelda releases line up. However, the most common release months for Zelda games are split between March and November, as evidenced by the releases of Skyward Sword (November 2011), A Link Between Worlds (November 2013), Twilight Princess HD (March 2016), Breath of the Wild (March 2017) and Age of Calamity (November 2020).
Whether Schneider is onto something or not is hard to say at this stage. And while many of us were left disappointed that Breath of the Wild 2 didn't make an appearance at The Game Awards 2021, we may not actually have to wait all that long for new info.
Nintendo typically likes to host a bumper Nintendo Direct presentation towards the beginning of each year, usually around February or March (though the company took a year off in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic). As such, we expect more official details to emerge for Breath of the Wild 2 around then.
TRG has contacted Nintendo for comment.
