Fans of the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have been waiting for years, including a delay, for the release of the sequel to the beloved open-world title. Nintendo has released a new trailer for the highly anticipated follow-up which also included the game's official name, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, as well as its new release date of May 12, 2023.
Revealed at the September 2022 Nintendo Direct, the new trailer for Tears of the Kingdom opened on a long shot of a giant stone door engraved with enigmatic imagery that likely teases what the story the upcoming title will be about. Link pushes the door open as he heads out to explore the floating ruins that hang high above the Hyrule of the original title, with the courageous hero making a daring leap from the flying structure onto a stone bird flying above the expansive world that fans became all too familiar with in the acclaimed 2017 game. Even with this new look at the game and many details and hints that fans will be able to pick apart, official word on the new game's story has been kept under wraps.
The Breath of the Wild sequel was first announced back in 2019, originally having a 2022 release window. Back in March of this year, the game was officially announced to be receiving a delay to the Spring of 2023. While the game received a delay from its 2022 release window, the actual date of the game's debut was unknown, as was the game's official title, with it being referred to as "the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild." With the new trailer from the Direct, this is the first time that fans have had an official name and date for the upcoming title. In the time since the sequel's announcement, Breath of the Wild also received a Dynasty Warriors-styled prequel game titled Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity that was released in December 2020.
Releasing in 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received acclaim from both fans and critics, both of which praised the game's open nature and ability to experiment with its gameplay and tools to create completely unique experiences as well as being a reinvention of the Zelda formula. The game went on to win three awards at that year's Game Awards including Game of the Year, tying with Cuphead and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice for most awards at the show.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will release on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023. You can check out the new trailer for the upcoming sequel to Breath of the Wild down below.