The next Legend of Zelda game, previously referred to as Breath of the Wild 2, has officially been titled Tears of the Kingdom. The name and release date were revealed during the latest Nintendo Direct, sparking a whole bunch of fan theories and speculation. As expected, it’s also reignited the rumors of an updated, more powerful Switch model.
Part of this is due to the game’s release date: as per the new trailer, Tears of the Kingdom is set to launch on May 12, 2023. Notably, that date is after the end of fiscal year 2022, a time period in which Nintendo said it would not be releasing new hardware — something that ResetEra user digitalrelic recalled. They started a poll on the popular gaming forum as a result, asking other users if they think Zelda’s release will coincide with a “Switch 2.” Next spring will mark six years since the Switch’s original release, and because it also falls outside the bounds of when Nintendo said it wouldn’t release a new console, digitalrelic sees a possibility. Poll answers and replies in the thread are quite polarizing though. As always, it’s important to remember that Nintendo has repeatedly stated that it is not working on Switch Pro, Switch 2, or similar concepts.
Funny enough, it was the previous Legend of Zelda trailer (still under the Breath of the Wild 2 name) that caused this discussion to crop up last time. At that time, Digital Foundry noted that footage in the trailer seemed too technical for what the Switch was capable of if it was indeed created in-engine and not pre-rendered. It’s really not surprising then, that the new trailer is bringing up the same theories once again.
Beyond the hardware hubbub, there have been a lot of theories about this new Zelda game. The last trailer made some think we’d be getting two different Links. The latest one has provoked plenty of theories and questions of its own. The name, the carvings, Link’s powers — there’s so much to dissect in just a minute and a half of footage. At least we know that everything will be answered next May.
