One of the most intriguing mysteries surrounding the upcoming launch of the Nintendo Switch in March has been the status of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Originally set to launch exclusively on the Wii U in 2015, the game was delayed twice from 2015 to 2016, at which point Nintendo changed course and revealed the game would launch simultaneously on the Wii U and the Switch in 2017.
Nintendo has yet to reveal a specific release date (or even release window) for the new Zelda beyond “2017,” but the original consensus was that the game would be ready in time for the launch of the Switch in March.
Then, late last year, reports began to circulate that Breath of the Wild would miss the March launch. Multiple sources confirmed that Nintendo was going to need four to six months of testing before it would be ready to bring the game to market, but since then, the company appears to have had a change of heart.
According to a new report from Eurogamer, Breath of the Wild is once again back on track to hit the Switch and the Wii U in March in the United States and Japan. Multiple sources tell the publication that Nintendo decided it wanted the strongest lineup possible for the launch of the Switch, which meant it couldn’t bank on a new 3D Mario game carrying the console for its first month or two of availability.
Interestingly, while the sources are confident about Zelda hitting the US and Japan in March, they are still unclear about the game’s status in Europe. As Eurogamer explains, Nintendo of Europe has to translate the game into multiple languages for a European release, which means that the game might either require an update to add more languages after launch, or might simply be delayed in Europe altogether.
Either way, we’ll almost certainly find out when (and where) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be available at Nintendo’s Switch presentation in Japan on the night of January 12th.
