The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to Breath of the Wild – and it has a release date

Nintendo has unveiled a new trailer for the sequel to Breath of the Wild and more importantly, has confirmed the game's official title and release date.

As confirmed by the Japanese firm during its Nintendo Direct presentation, the sequel to Breath of the Wild will be called The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The game will also release globally on May 12th, 2023, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

After first being announced as part of Nintendo's E3 presentation in June 2019, secrecy has surrounded the game ever since, so it's great to get some concrete details at long last. The title is also interesting as Nintendo believes it to be a spoiler, hence why it held back the name for so long. I'm sure many internet sleuths will already be reading every Zelda lore to find out what it means. Whatever the case, it's certainly a more sombre title than its predecessor.

Check out the new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom below:

The newest trailer gives us our best look at Link's next adventure yet, with murals of an epic fight in Hyrule that appears to have taken place sometime in the past. Footage has previously confirmed time will play a role, and this was only further proven in the latest video as it sees Link holding onto a fallen rock, which is then reversed back into the air. 

Link is also seen climbing a branch, similar to how he does in Breath of the Wild, before falling through the sky and landing on what appears to be a flying mechanical Guardian. With the launch of Skyward Sword HD along with previous trailers, it's clear that the heavens above Hyrule are integral to the overall narrative. It's also just plain exciting at the premise of falling through the clouds and riding mechanical machines through the stunning lands – quite like Horizon Forbidden West in a way. 

A May release date is new for the mainline Zelda franchise, traditionally known for launching in November. The closest comparisons are Breath of the Wild in March 2017 and Majora's Mask in April 2000.

To keep up with everything regarding the new Zelda, head to T3's official The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom hub for the latest news, trailers, rumours and everything else.

While one Zelda game made an appearance, others did not. Several rumours pointed to a port of Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD from Wii U to Switch, however, that never happened. On the other hand, we did get the return of James Bond with GoldenEye 007 coming to a Nintendo machine in decades.