Although Nintendo has suggested it may be leaving the Wilds Era behind, that may not be the case in full, with the latest leaks around the next mainline open-world Legend of Zelda game detailing a threequel game like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. That may be surprising, as The Legend of Zelda rarely does direct sequels, much less threequels (and it could be this is more spiritual in nature than applied), but the critical and commercial success of the past two games could play to a threequel’s favor.
That said, it’s not currently clear when fans will hear about the next mainline Zelda game. It seems a Nintendo Direct could happen on September 10, and it’ll likely feature a bunch of first- and third-party games. If so, it’s likely to focus on the 2026 release of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Zelda franchise. It is one of the few games even more successful than Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. But it would not be surprising if Nintendo teased a little of this game to celebrate Zelda’s 40th anniversary either.
The Legend of Zelda: Wilds Era 3 May Expand Its Open World Even Further
During Episode 294 of the Xbox Era Podcast (around the 1:23 time mark), Shpeshal Nick and Jeff Grubb discussed what the former had heard about the next mainline open-world Zelda game. Just as Tears of the Kingdom added the Sky Islands ABOVE and the Depths BELOW Hyrule, it’s reported the next Zelda game will bring dimension-hopping gameplay into play, as the franchise has historically played around with as well, and expanding the dimensions of exploration for the Wilds Era.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
According to the open-world Zelda game rumor, players would be able to move between dimensions through tears in reality and use objects or events in one dimension to affect another. One example reportedly involves luring a charging bull toward a target in one dimension to open a door somewhere else, while another would have players using water from one dimension to move objects in another.
Of course, it’s worth noting that Nick says it will operate in the same world and engine as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, with a handful of improvements from the past few years, and so exploration and gameplay may feel similar. It’s a true sequel in the sense it wants to simply iterate on what made the first two games so good, but given Nintendo’s comments on the Wilds Era, it’s uncertain if this is considered a “Wilds Era” game. It could be the same year hundreds, if not thousands of years later, for example.
Either way, it sounds like Nintendo is keeping the same open-world structure that worked so well for BotW and ToTK while expanding gameplay in new ways. Even if it’s not a “proper” Wilds Era title, the fact is the Wilds Era has now produced two of the most successful Zelda games ever, so building on what it introduced is not a surprising move. Unfortunately, it does not seem the new Legend of Zelda game is close to release. Based on the insiders’ discussion, it seems like 2027 to 2029 is the plausible window, with it leaning heavily toward the latter.
- Released
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May 12, 2023
- ESRB
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Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
