Why Did the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Take So Long to Release?

Published 03/20/2023, 2:14 PM EDT

Follow Us

Nintendo Switch exclusive The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is making all kinds of news currently. For its sales, and for its supposed story elements, which claim that this game might present Princess Zelda in a new light.

Every single one of Nintendo’s exclusives is of the highest quality and looks better than any other game that makes its way to their consoles. It is evident from fans’ excitement that the exclusives do offer a quality experience. However, not all of these exclusives take a long time to launch, so what took Tears of the Kingdom six years to launch?

The development of the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched in 2017, was a launch title for the hybrid console, and became the biggest reason for its initial success. Many gamers actually bought the Nintendo Switch to play Link’s first-ever open-world adventure. Moreover, the game launched to a universally positive critical reception.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

The Nintendo title had a great plot, excellent environmental storytelling, and uninterrupted sandbox gameplay. After years of radio silence, Nintendo released a teaser of a game calling it the Breath of the Wild sequel. A name that was not the official final name, but it was a name nevertheless. Fans were hyped, but the wait seemed perpetual.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Eventually, one more trailer was released, revealing its name to be Tears of the Kingdom. That trailer was followed by yet another trailer that revealed a bit of the story as well as the release date. All in all, this game finally got a launch date of May 12, 2023.

Fans still wonder: what took this game so long to release? Well, the simplest answer is that the Zelda game was not your typical sequel. Nintendo tends to work hard on their games, just so they can add a bunch of new elements to them. The other reason for its delay could be the involvement of Xenoblade Chronicles developer Monolith Soft. The developers may have primarily focused on last year’s Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which could have led to the delay.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

WATCH THIS STORY- The Best Games to Play On Xbox One

Nevertheless, fans are finally getting the game. The question of how good it may be will only be answered when the game actually launches in May.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Rohit Sejwal

1,315Articles

One take at a time

Originating from Delhi, Rohit Sejwal is an Esports writer at EssentiallySports who has done MSc in filmmaking. Academics aside, he is an Avid Gamer and has been writing about them every now and then. While RPG games are his forte, Soulsborne games are the ones that he cherishes the most.
Show More>

Edited by:

Jayant Chhabra