The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Lore & Background

Breath of the Wild's five-year development commenced after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011). Led by director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma, Nintendo EPD sought to rethink Zelda's conventions and introduced detailed chemistry and physics engines. The developers drew inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus (2005) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). Monolith Soft, developer of the Xenoblade series, assisted in designing landscapes and topography due to their experience in open world games.

The game was released on March 3, 2017, as the final Nintendo-published Wii U game and as a launch game for the Switch. It received acclaim, with praise for its gameplay, open-world design, and attention to detail, though some reviewers criticized its technical performance. Breath of the Wild won numerous year-end accolades, including Game of the Year at the 2017 Game Awards and the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. It broke sales records for a Nintendo launch game and sold 35.76 million copies by June 2026, making it the bestselling Zelda game and one of the bestselling video games.

The plot takes place at the end of the Zelda timeline in Hyrule. An amnesiac Link awakens in the Shrine of Resurrection and learns from King Rhoam's spirit that he has slept for a century. The story recounts ancient Sheikah technology, the Champions, and Calamity Ganon's attack, which left Link wounded and Zelda sealing herself with Ganon in Hyrule Castle.

Reader's Guide

Breath of the Wild is considered one of the greatest video games of all time; journalists described it as a landmark in open world design for its emphasis on experimentation, physics-based sandbox, and emergent gameplay. Numerous developers cited Breath of the Wild as inspiration, and it is a popular point of comparison among open-world games. The game's unstructured world rewards exploration and nonlinear story completion, with a consistent physics engine and a 'chemistry engine' that governs object interactions. Players can approach problems in different ways, such as using metal objects to attract lightning during thunderstorms. The Sheikah Slate provides tools like remote bombs and time-stopping abilities. Weapons and shields degrade over time, encouraging creative use of the environment. Shrines and Divine Beasts offer puzzles and battles, while Korok Seeds expand inventory. The Nintendo Switch 2 version added support for Zelda Notes, featuring audio recordings by Princess Zelda to assist players. A spinoff, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, was released in 2020, and a sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, was released in 2023. An enhanced version for the Nintendo Switch 2 was released on June 5, 2025.

Did You Know?

• Monolith Soft, known for the Xenoblade series, assisted in designing the game's landscapes and topography.
• The Master Sword is the only unbreakable weapon, but it can run out of energy after extended use, requiring a 10-minute recharge.

Development & Design Philosophy

The five-year development cycle began after the release of Skyward Sword in 2011. Led by director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma at Nintendo EPD, the team set out to fundamentally rethink what a Zelda game could be. Rather than following the series' traditional structure, they drew creative inspiration from outside the franchise—specifically Shadow of the Colossus (2005) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). To realize their vision of a truly open, interactive world, EPD brought in Monolith Soft, the studio behind the Xenoblade series, to assist with landscape and topography design, leveraging their expertise in building expansive open environments. The team also introduced a detailed chemistry engine and a physics engine, elements entirely new to the Zelda formula. These systems were designed to let players approach problems in multiple ways rather than seeking a single intended solution, fundamentally shifting the series toward experimentation and player-driven discovery.

Gameplay & World Design

Breath of the Wild redefined what it means to play a Zelda title. The world of Hyrule is deliberately unstructured: there are no defined area entrances or exits, minimal hand-holding from the game, and a strong push toward free exploration. A consistent physics engine and a chemistry engine that assigns physical properties to nearly every object means players can solve problems in countless ways. During a thunderstorm, for instance, carrying metal invites a lightning strike, but players can also hurl metal at enemies to redirect the bolt. Link's toolkit includes running, climbing, swimming, and paragliding, all governed by a stamina system. Weapons and shields degrade and shatter with use, and many items serve multiple purposes—wooden weapons can start fires, wooden shields can collect incoming arrows, and certain shields double as makeshift snowboards. The Sheikah Slate, a magical tablet, grants remote bombs, metal manipulation, ice-block formation on water, and temporary time-stop abilities, while also housing a photo-based compendium for cataloguing the world. Combat can be as simple as rolling a boulder off a cliff into an enemy camp, and the story can be completed in any order the player chooses.

Release, Reception & Commercial Success

Released on March 3, 2017, Breath of the Wild held a unique dual position: it was the final Nintendo-published title for the Wii U while simultaneously serving as a launch game for the Nintendo Switch. The critical response was overwhelmingly positive, with reviewers lauding the gameplay depth, the open-world design, and the meticulous attention to detail, though a minority flagged technical performance issues. The game swept year-end awards, claiming Game of the Year at both the 2017 Game Awards and the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. Commercially, it shattered the record for a Nintendo launch title and, by June 2026, had sold 35.76 million copies worldwide. That figure cements it as the best-selling entry in the Zelda franchise and places it among the highest-selling video games of all time. The game's success was not merely a product of the Switch's hardware but a testament to a design philosophy that gave players unprecedented freedom within a richly detailed world.

Legacy & Cultural Impact

Breath of the Wild is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games ever made. Journalists and critics have described it as a landmark moment in open-world design, specifically praising its emphasis on experimentation, its physics-based sandbox, and the emergent gameplay that arises from its chemistry engine meeting player creativity. Its influence on the broader industry has been profound: numerous developers have cited it as a direct inspiration, and it has become a standard point of comparison whenever a new open-world title is evaluated. The game's world and story have also spawned further entries in the franchise, including the 2020 spinoff Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. A full sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, arrived in 2023, and an enhanced edition for the Nintendo Switch 2 was released on June 5, 2025, ensuring the experience continues to reach new audiences nearly a decade after its initial launch.

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