The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild - wikipedia The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild 2017 video game The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild Primary packaging artwork, depicting Link overlooking Hyrule Developer ( s ) Nintendo EPD Publisher ( s ) Nintendo Director ( s ) Hidemaro Fujibayashi Producer ( s ) Eiji Aonuma Programmer ( s ) Takuhiro Dohta Kenji Matsutani Hiroshi Umemiya Artist ( s ) Satoru Takizawa Writer ( s ) Akihito Toda Composer ( s ) Manaka Kataoka Yasuaki Iwata Hajime Wakai Series The Legend of Zelda Platform ( s ) Nintendo Switch, Wii U Release March 3, 2017 Genre ( s ) Action - adventure Mode ( s ) Single - player The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action - adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch and Wii U. An entry in the longrunning The Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild takes place at the end of the Zelda timeline ; the player controls Link, who awakens from a hundred - year slumber to defeat Calamity Ganon before it can destroy the kingdom of Hyrule. Similarly to the original Legend of Zelda ( 1986 ), players are given little instruction and can explore the open world freely. Tasks include collecting multipurpose items to aid in objectives or solving puzzles and side quests for rewards. Breath of the Wild 's world is unstructured and designed to reward experimentation, and the story can be completed in a nonlinear fashion. Development of Breath of the Wild lasted five years. Wanting to reinvent the series, Nintendo introduced elements such as a detailed physics engine, high - definition visuals, and voice acting. Monolith Soft assisted in designing landscapes. The game was planned for release in 2015 as a Wii U exclusive, but was delayed twice due to problems with the physics engine. Released on March 3, 2017, Breath of the Wild was a launch game for Switch and the final Nintendo game for Wii U. Two downloadable content packs were released later in 2017. Breath of the Wild received acclaim for its open - ended gameplay and attention to detail, with many publications describing it as one of the greatest video games of all time. Critics called it a landmark in open - world design, despite minor criticism for its technical performance at launch. It won numerous awards, including several game of the year awards. By June 2018, Breath of the Wild had sold over 10.8 million copies worldwide, making it the bestselling Zelda game. Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 4 Promotion and release 4.1 Downloadable content 5 Reception 5.1 Sales 5.2 Accolades 6 References 7 External links Gameplay See also : Gameplay of The Legend of Zelda series Players are free to explore the world of Breath of the Wild using a variety of tools. For example, by jumping from a high elevation and deploying his paraglider, Link can travel distances quickly. Breath of the Wild is an action - adventure game set in an open world environment where players are tasked with exploring the kingdom of Hyrule while controlling Link. In terms of structure, Breath of the Wild encourages nonlinear gameplay, which is illustrated by the game 's lack of defined entrances or exits to areas, scant instruction given to the player, and encouragement to explore freely. Breath of the Wild introduces a consistent physics engine to the Zelda series, letting players approach problems in different ways rather than trying to find a single solution. The game also integrates a `` chemistry engine '' that defines the physical properties of most objects and governs how they interact with the player and one another. For example, players may take advantage of the game 's dynamic weather by throwing metal objects at enemies during thunderstorms to attract a lightning strike. These design approaches result in a generally unstructured and interactive world that rewards experimentation and allows for nonlinear completion of the story. As Link, players can perform actions such as running, climbing, swimming, and gliding with a paraglider, although Link is limited by his stamina. Link can procure items from the environment, including weapons, food, and other resources. Unlike previous Zelda games, weapons and shields will degrade over time. Many items have multiple uses ; for example, wooden weapons and armor can be set to light fires or collect incoming enemy arrows, and shields can be used as makeshift snowboards. Players can obtain food from hunting animals, gathering wild fruit, or collecting parts of deceased enemies. By cooking combinations of food or materials, the player can create meals and elixirs that can replenish Link 's health and stamina, or provide temporary status bonuses such as increased strength or weather resistance. An important tool in Link 's arsenal is the `` Sheikah Slate '', which can be used to mark waypoints on a map. Over the course of the game, Link can collect powers to add to the Slate, including remote bombs, the ability to manipulate metal objects, form ice blocks on watery surfaces, and temporarily stopping objects in time. In combat, players can lock onto targets for more precise attacks, while certain button combinations allow for advanced offensive and defensive moves. Players may also defeat enemies without weapons, such as rolling boulders off cliffs into enemy camps. Besides exploration, players can undergo quests or challenges to obtain certain benefits. Activating towers and shrines adds waypoints that the player may warp to at any time. Activating towers also adds territories to the map, although location names are not added until the player explores that area. Dotted throughout Hyrule are shrines that contain challenges ranging from puzzles to battles against robotic opponents. Clearing shrines earns Spirit Orbs, which can be traded for additional health or stamina points. Scattered across Hyrule are small puzzles that reveal Korok Seeds, which can be traded to expand inventory size for weapons, shields, and bows. Towns serve as hotspots for quests, sidequests and shops selling materials and clothing. Hikers and other travelers offer sidequests, hints, or conversation. Additionally, players can scan Amiibo figures against their console to summon items or call Link 's horse Epona from previous Zelda games and Wolf Link from Twilight Princess. Plot Breath of the Wild takes place at the end of the Zelda timeline in the kingdom of Hyrule. When the evil Calamity Ganon threatens Hyrule, he is defeated by Princess Zelda, descendant of the Goddess Hylia, with the help of her knight, Link. Hyrule matured into an advanced civilization, protected by four Divine Beasts -- enormous animalistic machines -- and an army of Guardians, autonomous weapons. Upon Ganon 's return, four great warriors were given the title of Champion and piloted one of the Divine Beasts to weaken him, protected by Zelda, Link, and the Guardians. Link struck Ganon down with the Master Sword, allowing Zelda to seal Ganon away. 10,000 years later, the kingdom of Hyrule regressed to a medieval state. Reading their ancestors ' prophecies, the Hyrulians recognized the signs of Ganon 's return and excavated the Divine Beasts and Guardians. The champions of Hyrule 's races -- Daruk, warrior of the mountainous Goron ; Mipha, princess of the aquatic Zora ; Revali, archer of the birdlike Rito ; and Urbosa, chief of the desert - dwelling Gerudo -- assembled to pilot the Divine Beasts, while Zelda and Link battled Ganon. However, Ganon possessed the Guardians and Divine Beasts, turning them against Hyrule. King Rhoam and the Champions were killed, the castle town was destroyed, and Link was gravely wounded. Zelda took Link to safety, hid the Master Sword, and used her magic to trap Ganon in Hyrule Castle. 100 years later, an amnesiac Link awakens in Hyrule. He meets an old man, who reveals himself as the spirit of King Rhoam. Rhoam explains that Ganon, sealed in Hyrule Castle, has grown strong ; he pleads for Link to defeat Ganon before he breaks free and destroys the world. Link travels Hyrule, returning to locations from his past and regaining his memories. With the help of the Hyrulian races, he boards the four Divine Beasts and purges them of Ganon 's monsters, releasing the spirits of Hyrule 's former champions. After obtaining the Master Sword from the Lost Woods, Link enters Hyrule Castle and defeats Ganon with the help of the Divine Beasts and Zelda 's Bow of Light. Zelda seals Ganon away, restoring peace and allowing the spirits of King Rhoam and the champions to depart. Zelda realizes that Hyrule must be rebuilt and that she and Link must begin the process themselves. If the player fulfills certain conditions, they unlock an alternative ending where Link and Zelda survey Hyrule Castle and talk about rebuilding the world. Development With Breath of the Wild, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma sought to rethink series conventions. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild was developed by Nintendo EPD for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch consoles. According to series producer Eiji Aonuma, the development team aimed to `` rethink the conventions of Zelda ''. Following the release of The Legend of Zelda : Skyward Sword in 2011, Aonuma received comments from players who wished to see a more interconnected map to explore the locales between the gameplay areas. In 2013, Nintendo experimented with nonlinear, open - world gameplay in The Legend of Zelda : A Link Between Worlds. At the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, Aonuma said he planned to reform dungeons and puzzles, two of the series ' major gameplay elements, and redesign the game to allow players to reach the end without progressing through the story. As Nintendo had never worked on a modern open - world game before, they took influence from the development of The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim. Prior to full development, the developers designed a playable 2D prototype similar to the original Zelda to experiment with physics - based puzzles. The final game uses a modified version of the Havok physics engine. At the 2017 Game Developers Conference, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, technical director Takuhiro Dohta, and art director Satoru Takizawa held a presentation titled `` Change and Constant -- Breaking Conventions with The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild '', during which they demoed the prototype. Aonuma called the physics engine in Breath of the Wild a major development for the Zelda series, saying that it `` underpins everything in the world '' and makes things operate in a `` logical and realistic way '', allowing players to approach puzzles and problems in different ways. He expanded on the difficulty in developing this system, recalling how one day during development he entered an area in the game and found that all the objects had been blown away by the wind. `` Our mission in developing this new Zelda game... is quite plainly to re-think the conventions of Zelda. I 'm referring to the expectation that the player is supposed to complete dungeons in a certain order... we want to set aside these conventions, get back to basics and create a newborn Zelda so that the players can best enjoy the real essence of the franchise. '' Eiji Aonuma, producer The game was built and demonstrated with touchscreen features for the Wii U, but the developers found that looking away from the main screen distracted from the game. The features were removed when the game moved to tandem development across the Wii U and Nintendo Switch. The Wii U GamePad also affected animation ; although Link is canonically left - handed, he is right - handed in the game to match the GamePad 's control scheme, which has its sword - swinging buttons on its right side. The Switch version performs better than the Wii U release when docked to a television, although when undocked, both run at the same resolution. The Switch version also has higher - quality environmental sounds. Aonuma stated that the art design was inspired by gouache and en plein air art to help identify the vast world. The game 's landscape was based on locations in and around Kyoto, the hometown of game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, and was partially designed by Monolith Soft, who assisted with topographical level design. `` I really think the implementation of this physics engine is a major development for the Zelda series. The way the physics engine underpins everything in the world really offers up a lot of new possibilities. For instance, in Breath of the Wild you might have a puzzle where making use of the physics, there 'll be various ways you can solve that puzzle. That really opens up a lot of possibilities so there 's not just one way to progress in the game or just one way to solve a puzzle. '' Eiji Aonuma, producer Breath of the Wild was the first main Zelda game to use voice acting in cutscenes, although Link remains a silent protagonist. Aonuma was affected by the first time he heard a character with a human voice in - game, and wanted to leave a similar impression on players. The team decided to record voice - overs for all cutscenes instead of only the key scenes, as originally planned. Nintendo provided voice - overs and subtitles in eight languages. Initially, players were not able to mix and match the languages of voices and subtitles ; however, Nintendo released an update in May 2017 that allowed players to choose the voice - over language. The game went gold on February 3, 2017, with Nintendo holding a wrap party to celebrate. Coinciding with the game 's launch in Taiwan and South Korea in early 2018, Nintendo introduced a patch worldwide adding traditional and simplified Chinese and Korean translations for the Nintendo Switch version. The original score was composed by Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, and Hajime Wakai. Kataoka and Wakai had previously worked on the Zelda games Spirit Tracks and The Wind Waker respectively. The soundtrack was primarily written and performed on a piano, with a focus on ambient music and sounds rather than the melodic and upbeat music in previous Zelda games. According to Wakai, this helped add `` authenticity '' to the environments, and was taken on as a challenge by the rest of the sound team. Promotion and release Aonuma announced a new entry for Nintendo 's Wii U console in January 2013 during the company 's regular online presentation. The game, he continued, would challenge the series ' conventions, such as the requirement that players complete dungeons in a set order. The next year, Nintendo introduced the game 's high - definition, cel - shaded visual style with in - game footage at its June 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo press event. Once planned for release in 2015, the game was delayed early in the year and did not show at that year 's E3. Zelda series creator Shigeru Miyamoto reaffirmed that the game was still set for release on the Wii U, despite the development of Nintendo 's next console, the Nintendo Switch. The game was delayed again in April 2016 due to problems with its physics engine. Nintendo let attendees play the game 's Wii U version at E3 2016, where they also announced its subtitle, Breath of the Wild. CNET said that the showing would `` take your breath away '', and Breath of the Wild was the most talked - about E3 2016 game on social media according to Brandwatch, a social media monitoring platform. It was also listed among the best games at E3 by Eurogamer, GameSpot, and GamesRadar+. At a Nintendo presentation in January 2017, Nintendo showed a new trailer announcing that the game would be released as a launch game for the Switch. Breath of the Wild launched for both the Wii U and Switch on March 3, 2017. It was the last Nintendo game released for the Wii U. The Switch version was available in limited `` Special Edition '' and `` Master Edition '' bundles, which both included a Sheikah Eye coin, a Calamity Ganon tapestry with world map, a soundtrack CD, and a themed carrying case for the Switch. The Master Edition also included a figurine based on the Master Sword. An `` Explorer 's Edition '' was released for the Switch on November 23, 2017, containing a two - sided map and a 100 - page book of story information. In Europe, the game used unique packing artwork. A five - disc, 211 - track soundtrack was released in Japan on April 25, 2018. Downloadable content On June 30, 2017, Nintendo released a `` season pass '' for two bundled downloadable content ( DLC ) : The Master Trials and The Champions ' Ballad. The Master Trials adds gameplay modes, features, and items. In the Trial of the Sword challenge, Link fights through around 45 rooms of enemies and must finish each room before proceeding. Link begins with no equipment, but is rewarded with a glowing Master Sword that has greater durability and possesses a doubled damage stat if the player completes the challenge. The pack also adds an option to play the game at a higher difficulty level, which adds ranks and raises the ranks of enemies. The enemies are more perceptive when Link sneaks near them and slowly regenerate health in battle. New floating platforms throughout the land offer enemies to battle and treasure as a reward. The Hero 's Path feature draws the player 's path on the game 's map, designed to help players determine places they have not visited. The player can also find the hidden Travel Medallion to save Link 's current position as a single waypoint to which the player can transport Link at any time. New items include the Korok Mask, which helps the player find Korok locations, and other themed cosmetics related to previous Zelda games. The Champions ' Ballad was released on December 7, 2017, with a trailer presented at The Game Awards 2017 exhibiting the new content. The expansion pack adds a new dungeon, original story, gear, and additional challenges. It also introduces the Master Cycle Zero, a motorcycle - like vehicle that Link can ride after players complete the pack 's additional content. Reception Reception Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic ( NS ) 97 / 100 ( Wii U ) 96 / 100 Review scores Publication Score Destructoid 10 / 10 Edge 10 / 10 EGM 9.5 / 10 Eurogamer Essential Famitsu 40 / 40 Game Informer 10 / 10 Game Revolution GameSpot 10 / 10 GamesRadar+ Giant Bomb IGN 10 / 10 Nintendo Life Nintendo World Report 9.5 / 10 Polygon 10 / 10 VideoGamer.com 9 / 10 Breath of the Wild was released to critical acclaim, with some calling the game a masterpiece and one of the greatest video games of all time. On the review aggregator Metacritic, Breath of the Wild was the highest - rated game of 2017 and holds the largest number of perfect reviews of any game from any year. Industry publications including IGN, GameSpot, Polygon, Entertainment Weekly, Eurogamer, Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamesRadar+, and Game Informer ranked Breath of the Wild the best game of 2017. It was the 29th game ( including retrospective perfect scores ) to earn a 10 / 10 score from Edge and the 24th game to receive a 40 / 40 score from Famitsu. The open - world gameplay received praise. Jose Otero of IGN described it as `` a masterclass in open - world design '' and `` a wonderful sandbox full of mystery, dangling dozens upon dozens of tantalizing things in front of you that just beg to be explored ''. GameSpot called it the most impressive game Nintendo had made, writing that it `` takes designs and mechanics perfected in other games and reworks them for its own purposes to create something wholly new, but also something that still feels quintessentially like a Zelda game... It 's both a return to form and a leap into uncharted territory, and it exceeds expectations on both fronts. '' Edge wrote that the game world was `` an absolute, and unremitting, pleasure to get lost in '' and that `` the magic of being given all the tools in the opening hour is the knowledge that the solution to any problem is already at your disposal, and you can always change tack ''. According to Kyle Orland of Ars Technica, `` after spending a week utterly immersed in Nintendo 's open - world reimagining of the tried - and - true Zelda formula, it 's hard to return to the more formulaic entries of the franchise 's past ''. Journalists commented on unexpected results not intended by the developers, with serendipitous moments proving popular on social media. Chris Plante of The Verge predicted that whereas prior open - world games tended to feature prescribed challenges, Zelda would influence a new generation of games with open - ended problem - solving. Reviewers lauded the sense of detail and immersion. Kotaku recommended turning off UI elements in praise of the indirect cues that contextually indicate the same information, such as Link shivering in the cold or waypoints appearing when using the scope. Reviewers also commented on the unexpected permutations of interactions between Link, villagers, pets, and enemies,, many of which were shared widely on social media. A tribute to former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who died during development, also attracted praise. Jim Sterling was more critical than most, giving Breath of the Wild a 7 / 10 score. He criticized the difficulty, weapon durability, and level design, but praised the open world and variety of content. Other criticism focused on the unstable frame rate and the low resolution of 900p ; updates addressed some of these problems. Sales Breath of the Wild broke sales records for a Nintendo launch game in multiple regions. In Japan, the Switch and Wii U versions sold a combined 230,000 copies in the first week of release, with the Switch version becoming the top - selling game released that week. In the UK, Breath of the Wild was the second - bestselling retail game its week of release behind Horizon Zero Dawn, and became the third - bestselling Zelda game behind Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. In the United States, Breath of the Wild was the second - bestselling video game during its month of release behind Tom Clancy 's Ghost Recon Wildlands. Nintendo reported that Breath of the Wild sold more than one million copies in the US that month, 925,000 of which were for Switch - a 100 % attach rate. That month, Nintendo reported it had sold 3.84 million copies of Breath of the Wild worldwide, 1.08 million for Wii U and 2.76 million for Switch, surpassing the Switch 's global sales of 2.74 million for the same period. Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said that the attach rate of Breath of the Wild to the Switch was `` unprecedented ''. By June 2018, the Switch version had sold 9.32 million copies, and the Wii U version 1.5 million, for a total of 10.82 million, making Breath of the Wild the best - selling Zelda game. The game 's success sparked increased interest in the Wii U emulator Cemu, as the Cemu developers rapidly updated the software to run the game at a smooth frame rate within weeks of release. Accolades Following its demonstration at E3 2016, Breath of the Wild received several accolades from the Game Critics Awards and from publications such as IGN and Destructoid. It was listed among the best games at E3 by Eurogamer, GameSpot, and GamesRadar+. In late 2016, Breath of the Wild received two awards at Gamescom, and won the award for Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards 2016. After its release, Breath of the Wild won multiple awards at The Game Awards 2017, including Game of the Year, Best Game Direction, and Best Action / Adventure Game, and was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Score / Music, and Best Audio Design. At the 2018 DICE Awards, it won Game of the Year among other awards. Award Date of ceremony Category Result Ref. Game Critics Awards July 5, 2016 Best Action / Adventure Game Won Best Console Game Won Best of Show Won The Game Awards 2016 December 1, 2016 Most Anticipated Game Won 2017 Teen Choice Awards August 13, 2017 Choice Video Game Nominated Japan Game Awards September 21, 2017 The Grand Award Won BBC Radio 1 's Teen Awards October 22, 2017 Best Game Nominated Golden Joystick Awards November 17, 2017 Best Visual Design Nominated Best Audio Won Critics ' Choice Award Won Nintendo Game of the Year Won Ultimate Game of the Year Won The Game Awards 2017 December 7, 2017 Game of the Year Won Best Game Direction Won Best Art Direction Nominated Best Score / Music Nominated Best Audio Design Nominated Best Action / Adventure Game Won New York Game Awards January 24, 2018 Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year Won Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game Nominated Statue of Liberty Award for Best World Won D.I.C.E. Awards February 22, 2018 Game of the Year Won Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Nominated Outstanding Technical Achievement Nominated Adventure Game of the Year Won Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Won Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Won NAVGTR Awards March 13, 2018 Art Direction, Fantasy Won Control Design, 3D Nominated Game Design, Franchise Nominated Game of the Year Nominated Game, Franchise Family Nominated Original Light Mix Score, Franchise Won SXSW Gaming Awards March 17, 2018 Excellence in Musical Score Nominated Excellence in Animation Nominated Excellence in Art Nominated Excellence in Gameplay Won Excellence in Design Won Video Game of the Year Won Game Developers Choice Awards March 21, 2018 Best Audio Won Best Design Won Innovation Award Nominated Best Technology Nominated Best Visual Art Nominated Game of the Year Won 14th British Academy Games Awards April 12, 2018 Artistic Achievement Nominated Best Game Nominated Game Design Nominated Game Innovation Won Music Nominated 2018 Teen Choice Awards August 12, 2018 Choice Video Game Nominated References Notes Jump up ^ Japanese : ゼルダ の 伝説 ブレス オブ ザ ワイルド, Hepburn : Zeruda no Densetsu : Buresu obu za Wairudo Jump up ^ Languages include Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. The Dutch localization is text only and borrows the English voice - over by default, whilst the Spanish localization include two different voice - over tracks for different regions. Jump up ^ The Chinese and Korean localization is text only and borrows the Japanese voice - over by default. Citations Jump up ^ Goldfarb, Andrew ( June 14, 2016 ). `` E3 2016 : Zelda : Breath of the Wild 's Open World is 12 Times Bigger than Twilight Princess ''. IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016. ^ Jump up to : George, Richard ( January 23, 2013 ). `` New HD Zelda Revealed for Wii U ''. IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Phillips, Tom ( January 19, 2017 ). `` The big Zelda : Breath of the Wild interview ''. Eurogamer. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2018. 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Impa : The history of the royal family of Hyrule is also the history of Calamity Canon, a primal evil that has endured over the ages. This evil has been turned back time and time again by a warrior wielding the soul of a hero and a princess who carries the blood of the Goddess. With the passage of time, each conflict with Ganon faded into legend. So listen closely as I tell you of this ' legend ' that occurred 10,000 years ago. Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. Impa : Hyrule was then blossoming as a highly advanced civilization... the people thought it wise to utilize their technological prowess to ensure the safety of the land should Calamity Ganon ever return. They constructed... the Divine Beasts. They also built a legion of autonomous weapons called guardians. Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. Impa : The Divine Beasts were piloted by four individuals of exceptional skill from across the land. And thus, the plan to neutralize Ganon was forged... The princess and the hero fought alongside these four Champions against this ancient evil. The Guardians were tasked with protecting the hero, as the Divine Beasts unleashed a furious attack... And when the hero wielding the sword that seals the darkness delivered his final blow, the princess used her sacred power to seal away Calamity Ganon. Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. Princess Zelda 's Research Notes : In the war against the Calamity 10,000 years ago... were the injuries so great as to necessitate such a facility ? Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. King Rhoam : There was also a prophecy. ' The signs of a resurrection of Calamity Ganon are clear, and the power to oppose it lies dormant beneath the ground '. We decided to heed the prophecy and began excavating large areas of land. Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. King Rhoam : The princess, her appointed knight, and the rest of the Champions were on the brink of sealing away Ganon... But nay... Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. King Rhoam : ( Ganon ) seized control of the Guardians and the Divine Beasts and turned them against us. The Champions lost their lives. Those residing in the castle as well. The appointed knight, gravely wounded, collapsed while defending the princess. And thus, the Kingdom of Hyrule was devastated absolutely by Calamity Ganon. Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. King Rhoam : However, the princess survived... to face Ganon alone. Jump up ^ Otero, Jose ( June 14, 2016 ). `` E3 2016 : The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild Might Be The Open World Zelda We Always Wanted ''. IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2016. Jump up ^ Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild. 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External Links Official website The Legend of Zelda series Main series Console games The Legend of Zelda The Adventure of Link A Link to the Past Ocarina of Time Majora 's Mask The Wind Waker HD Four Swords Adventures Twilight Princess HD Skyward Sword Breath of the Wild Handheld games Link 's Awakening Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages A Link to the Past and Four Swords The Minish Cap Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks Ocarina of Time 3D A Link Between Worlds Majora 's Mask 3D Tri Force Heroes Spin - offs LCD games CD - i games Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon Zelda 's Adventure Satellaview games Freshly - Picked Tingle 's Rosy Rupeeland Link 's Crossbow Training Irodzuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip Hyrule Warriors Universe Characters Link Princess Zelda Ganon Navi Epona Tingle Midna Recurring enemies Triforce `` I am Error '' `` It 's dangerous to go alone ! 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Award for Game of the Year GoldenEye 007 ( 1997 ) The Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time ( 1998 ) The Sims ( 1999 ) Diablo II ( 2000 ) Halo : Combat Evolved ( 2001 ) Battlefield 1942 ( 2002 ) Call of Duty ( 2003 ) Half - Life 2 ( 2004 ) God of War ( 2005 ) Gears of War ( 2006 ) Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare ( 2007 ) LittleBigPlanet ( 2008 ) Uncharted 2 : Among Thieves ( 2009 ) Mass Effect 2 ( 2010 ) The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim ( 2011 ) Journey ( 2012 ) The Last of Us ( 2013 ) Dragon Age : Inquisition ( 2014 ) Fallout 4 ( 2015 ) Overwatch ( 2016 ) The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild ( 2017 ) The Game Awards Years 2014 2015 2016 2017 Game of the Year award Dragon Age : Inquisition ( 2014 ) The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt ( 2015 ) Overwatch ( 2016 ) The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild ( 2017 ) Related Geoff Keighley Spike Video Game Awards The Legend of Zelda portal Nintendo portal Video games portal 2010s portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Breath_of_the_Wild&oldid=857122897 '' Categories : 2017 video games Action - adventure games AIAS Game of the Year winners Amnesia in fiction Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development games Nintendo Switch eShop games Nintendo Switch games Open world video games Post-apocalyptic video games Single - player video games The Legend of Zelda video games Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring anthropomorphic characters Video games that use Amiibo figurines Video games using Havok Video games with alternate endings Video games with cel - shaded animation Video games with downloadable content Wii U eShop games Wii U games Hidden categories : CS1 Korean - language sources ( ko ) CS1 Chinese - language sources ( zh ) Good articles Articles with short description Use mdy dates from August 2018 Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images Articles using Video game reviews template in single platform mode Talk Contents About Wikipedia Ænglisc Asturianu Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Italiano ქართული Lietuvių Македонски مصرى Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Scots Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt 吴语 中文 25 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 August 2018, at 18 : 22 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was breath of the wild first announced
Answer: 2015