After Tears Of The Kingdom, where can Zelda games go next on Switch 2?Michael BeckwithPublished November 29, 2024 1:00am Zelda: A Link to the Future (Nintendo/Metro)With the Switch 2 on the horizon, Nintendo has a major problem on its hands in terms of how it surpasses Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.The release of The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild in 2017 changed the Zelda series forever. While some purists werent fond of its radical open world overhaul, Nintendo was more than justified in its decision thanks to the games widespread critical success and massively increased sales.The unparalleled sense of freedom Breath Of The Wild offered in how players could explore the world, progress its story, and solve puzzles led to it being widely acclaimed as the best video game ever made, although admittedly thats not the first time anyone has said that about a Zelda title.Nintendo even managed to capture lightning in a bottle twice, with the 2023 sequel Tears Of The Kingdom expanding the map further and adding impressively realistic physics-based gameplay, turning Hyrule into the ultimate sandbox playground.Much like with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the problem with the last two Zelda games is that Nintendo has done too good of a job, setting an impossibly high bar for the eventual next game on Nintendo Switch 2.With Nintendos plans for its next console, and the Zelda series as a whole, still nebulous, we need to discuss where Nintendo can go next and what we do know so far of Zeldas future.What has Nintendo said about the next Legend Of Zelda game?In a 2023 interview, series producer Eiji Aonuma and Tears Of The Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi confirmed that the inevitable follow-up would still feature an open world setting.This doesnt rule out more 2D games, as demonstrated by this years Echoes Of Wisdom, but its safe to say any new 3D game would continue the formula established by Breath Of The Wild and not the older one pioneered by Ocarina Of Time.Aonuma has expressed confusion over why fans would want to go back to the old 3D formula but hes also made it clear that therell be no more sequels to Breath Of The Wild. So while future games will be open world they wont necessarily resemble the Switchs games in any other way.Even without official statements from staff, its obvious Nintendo will stick with the current formula, or something close to it, just by looking at the sales figures. For as prestigious as the Zelda series is, the games never used to reach anywhere near the same level of financial success as the Super Mario and Pokmon games.What is the best-selling Zelda game?For the longest time, the best-selling Zelda game was 2006s Twilight Princess (ironically, one of the least regarded entries by most fans) which had sold 8.85 million copies by 2015. While still a success, compare that to New Super Mario Bros. and Pokmon Diamond/Pearl, that came out the same year, which sold 30.8 million and 17.67 million, respectively.Breath Of The Wild came along and utterly destroyed Twilight Princess record, with a current total of 32.29 million. This not only makes it one of the best-selling Switch games but, in a stunning role reversal, its done better than the Switch entries for Mario and Pokmon (not including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe).Nintendo might seem to make illogical decisions at times but they know when theyve hit pay dirt and, as Aonuma has clearly stated, theres now no going back to the old ways, except via spin-offs and remasters.Will there be a sequel to Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?Aonuma seems adamant about moving onto a new Hyrule, and it would make sense when you remember why he ruled out any DLC for Tears Of The Kingdom, when he said: I feel like Ive done everything I can to create games in that world.Although the games themselves never draw attention to the fact, the various Zelda game are set in a complex series of separate timelines and you only rarely play as the same Link in any of them its often a different character and often one from a separate, parallel universe.Aonuma has said his team could return to the Breath Of The Wild version of Hyrule if they came up with new ideas for it, but it sounds like hes eager to make something else entirely. Whether its a sequel or a new work, I think it will be a completely new way to play, he said.Surprisingly, when asked if Tears Of The Kingdoms success was a hurdle for planning the next game, Aonuma sounded unconcerned and even encouraged fans to keep [their] expectations high.That suggests he already has something clear in mind for a Tears Of The Kingdom successor, but what that might be is very hard to guess.When will the next Legend Of Zelda be out?One thing Nintendo cant change is how long it takes to make a modern triple-A game and even though Tears Of The Kingdom used Breath Of The Wild as a foundation it still took six years to develop. That should be taken as an absolute minimum for the next game, which would make it no earlier than 2029 and quite possibly several years more than that.Some may assume Nintendo will simply offer broadly the same game, with the same mechanics, but with better graphics and a bigger map. Thats not usually how they do things though and certainly doesnt seem to be what Aonuma is hinting at.If there is a clue as to what they could be doing next, perhaps it can be gleaned by looking at those weaker aspects of Breath Of The Wild, which Nintendo might feel are worth extra attention in a new game.Zeldas combat changed little between Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom and was beginning to seem a little simplistic by the end, so one obvious idea might be to focus more on action with a more robust and complex combat system, perhaps one that adds magic as well as just weapons.Or maybe it could flesh out Links inventory and give him permanent items and tools, such as old favourites like the hookshot. There may be no going back to Ocarina Of Time but Nintendo is not beyond throwing fans a bone and its easy to imagine the next game might see more traditional use of items and more integral dungeons given the ones in Tears Of The Kingdom still werent quite up to par.Nintendo clearly heard fan demand for a playable Zelda, so theyll also know that many were originally speculating she might be playable in Tears Of The Kingdom, perhaps even via a co-op mode. That never happened but it wouldnt have been the first, or even the second, time Zelda featured co-op multiplayer. Imagine multiple Links running around Hyrule banding together to beat tough enemies (Bandai Namco)We know Nintendos been experimenting with online multiplayer lately, running a private test for something involving a shared world. What if it did something similar for Zelda, creating a version of Hyrule populated by players who could help one another la Elden Ring?We could speculate till the cuccos come home, but perhaps the reason why Aonuma seems unintimidated by the future is because he, and by extension Nintendo, arent necessarily interested in surpassing Tears Of The Kingdom.Nintendos priority has always been gameplay over anything else; its why it took so long for Zelda to be playable. So, while the next 3D Zelda probably wont be as much of a dramatic gameplay reset as Breath Of The Wild was, we also shouldnt expect it to hit the exact same beats.But with such a project many years away from coming out, and with the Switch 2 expected to launch in 2025, Nintendos going to want something Zelda related for at least the consoles first year on the market, if not its launch period.So, what can the company do in the meantime? The answer to that question is thankfully far easier to guess: more remakes and/or remasters.What is the next Zelda remaster going to be?Considering Nintendo typically tries to have a new Zelda game out every year or two, and 2025 is far too soon for the new mainline entry, its not unreasonable to assume itll have a remaster or remake ready for the Switch 2.After all, its plugged its release schedule before with Wii U remasters of Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker, plus Skyward Sword for Switch, as fans waited for brand new entries.While no such projects have been so far annouced, rumours of Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker coming to Switch have persisted since at least 2021.The Switchs 2025 line-up is nothing but remasters at the moment, so we could easily see those two games being added to the schedule. Either to pad things out till the Switch 2s release or to promote its backwards compatibility feature. Especially since Nintendo is known for sitting on completed games until it has an opening for them.Remasters, though, wouldnt be quite as exciting as a full-fledged remake. One dream project for fans is a full remake of Ocarina Of Time, which many still consider the best entry in the series.If Nintendo handed something like that off to Grezzo (its go-to developer for Zelda remakes) or another external studio (Capcoms remake team, anyone?) to get it ready for Switch 2, that would certainly help push the new hardware and they couldve already been working on that for years in secret.If not that, theres been plenty of rumours of a Breath Of The Wild remaster for the Switch 2 launch, to show off its new technical abilities. But that may have resulted from confusion over a supposed technical demo that Nintendo has been showing developers and not something they actually intend to release to the public.More TrendingTheres also the possibility of Nintendo offering a non-traditional spin-off. Another Hyrule Warriors? A sequel to Links Crossbow Training? A management sim where you play as Beedle and sell bugs to customers?Whatever the case, Nintendo has several avenues to pursue for the future of the Zelda series. The fruits of Aonuma and his teams labour wont be seen for some time, but theres plenty Nintendo can do to keep interest in Zelda high until then.Not to mention theres a live action movie on the way. Admittedly, theres no hint at when thatll release either but if its anywhere near as successful as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo can safely rely on that to prop up sales of currently available Zelda titles.For now, it seems we shouldnt be pondering whether Nintendo can surpass Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom, but rather what the next Zelda can do differently while adhering to the formula that made millions of people fall in love with the series in the first place. The answer isnt necessarily to go even bigger (Nintendo)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy