Nintendo Switch may arrive without its most anticipated game

It seems that Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild development team has taken some sage-like advice from Creative Fellow Shigeru Miyamoto’s book, as they're rumored to be delaying the launch of their upcoming game until several months into the new year. (Miyamoto, remember, was the one who said “A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”)

The sources of these rumors are Nintendo insiders who originally spoke to Emily Rogers, telling her that the Breath of the Wild was “more work” than originally anticipated. Since Rogers’ initial report, Eurogamer has corroborated that rumor with sources of its own, as has another member of the media, Laura Kate Dale.

In both instances, sources have said they expect the game to be finished in December, but state that the new launch date will be sometime much later in 2017, after the game has undergone extensive QA testing.

Breath of the Wild, which was originally shown off as a tech demo during E3 2015, resurfaced at E3 2016 this year with a playable demo, and was then shown off again during the debut trailer for the Nintendo Switch

Many gamers (myself included) had assumed that Nintendo chose to show off Zelda with the debut trailer because it had plans to either bundle the two together when the console launches in March of next year or, at the very least, sell the game alongside the console.

It appears now that both scenarios are unlikely to happen.

But hey, at least we’re still getting a new 3D Mario game, right? Nintendo? Please…

Nick Pino

Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar's sister site, Tom's Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it.

Latest in Nintendo Switch
Samus Aran leaping through space
Metroid Prime 4 tipped to be at the heart of April's Nintendo Switch 2 deep-dive
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Switch 2 expected to have AI upscaling and I can't wait to finally play Tears of the Kingdom with upgraded graphics
Super Mario Odyssey played on a Nintendo Switch in portable mode
YouTuber seemingly reveals the first hands-on look at the Nintendo Switch 2 and its new magnetic Joy-Cons
Nintendo Switch Pro
To the surprise of absolutely no one, another new look at the Nintendo Switch 2 has seemingly leaked
Nintendo Switch 2
If the Switch 2 can't perform at the same level as the Z1 Extreme Asus ROG Ally even with Nvidia's DLSS, then Nintendo is in trouble
Nintendo Switch 2
New Nintendo Switch 2 leak may have revealed the first look at the new handheld
Latest in News
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 23 (game #1154)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, March 23 (game #385)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 23 (game #651)
Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold main display opened
Apple is rumored to be prioritizing battery life on the foldable iPhone – which could also feature a liquid metal hinge for added durability
Google Pixel 9
The Google Pixel 10 just showed up in Android code – and may come with a useful speed boost
L-mount alliance
Sirui joins L-Mount Alliance to deliver its superb budget lenses for Leica, DJI, Sigma and Panasonic cameras