Nintendo revealed Breath of the Wild would be getting a sequel a while ago and fans have been waiting for more information ever since. Today's Direct was finally that day, as the sequel was confirmed to be called Tears of the Kingdom, and if all goes to plan it will launch on Switch May 12, 2023.
The start of the trailer gave off unmistakable Zelda vibes, but as you can see below, it was a while before which exact Zelda vibes were being given off. With rumors that Twilight Princess and Wind Waker remasters might feature during the Direct too, it wasn't until Link pushed open the massive doors shown for the first few seconds that it became clear Nintendo was finally ready to reveal more Breath of the Wild, sorry, Tears of the Kingdom news.
Other than the name and the date, the trailer also showed Link ascending what appears to be a tree root on the side of a floating rock, explaining how he makes his way up into the clouds above Hyrule, and surfing back down on what looks like a giant stingray. A significant upgrade on the glider you find near the very beginning of the first game.
The original Breath of the Wild was a Switch launch title and has gone on to become one of the most popular games not just on its own platform, but across any available platform over the past six years. The first game has been so popular, in fact, that it has almost tripled the sales of Twilight Princess, the next best-selling Zelda game in the series. 25.8 million copies sold to date compared to 8.7 million for Twilight Princess.
A real game changer not only for the Zelda series but for Nintendo games in general. It only makes sense that Nintendo would want to create a sequel rather than go off in a different direction as it has done with previous Zelda games. Now that the sequel finally has a name, and hopefully a release date that won't be pushed beyond its 2023 arrival, the hype for Breath of the Wild players' return to Hyrule can really begin.