Why Breath of the Wild 2’s Official Name Is Withheld By Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is one of the most hotly anticipated games of 2022. And yet, despite how commonplace the shorthand has become, Breath of the Wild 2 is not the game’s actual name. Nintendo has carefully titled both the 2019 and 2021 trailers “Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” What’s more, the sequel already has an official subtitle, but Nintendo has decided to withhold it from audiences.

Nintendo is excellent with secrets, so holding out on fans in the name of suspense is nothing new for them. And Zelda subtitles do tend to point to a central theme in the game. Many Zelda subtitles simply refer to a key item, like Majora’s Mask, The Minish Cap, and The Wind Waker. While the key item trend is also true of Ocarina of Time, Ocarina points to another trend in Zelda titles – the reveal of a major plot mechanic. Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda game to feature time travel; Skyward Sword introduced the floating city of Skyloft to the series; Breath of the Wild alludes to the game’s open-world nature.

In an interview with IGN, Nintendo Treehouse’s Bill Trinen explained the reasoning behind keeping the true name of the Breath of the Wild sequel under wraps. “As for why we’re holding back on the name,” Trinen said, “you’ll just have to stay tuned because, obviously, Zelda names are kind of important. Those subtitles… they start to give little bits of hints about maybe what’s going to happen.” In other words, the subtitle itself is a kind of spoiler, which is why Nintendo is keeping it a secret for now.

What Clues BOTW2’s Title Could Hold To Its Gameplay

The very fact that Trinen mentioned Zelda subtitles “start to give little bits of hints about maybe what’s going to happen,” signals this is likely the case for BOTW2’s true subtitle. There is already ample ground to believe BOTW2 will introduce mechanics which will strongly differentiate itself from its predecessor. The 2021 trailer prominently features skydiving, floating islands, and other allusions to Skyward Sword. After the trailer’s premiere during the E3 Direct, producer Eiji Aonuma summed up that the “setting has expanded to include the skies above Hyrule.” If the sky is the one game mechanic Aonuma chose to mention, it’s likely there’s much more to this detail that Nintendo isn’t saying yet. Audiences still have no idea exactly what forces have caused the castle to suddenly rise, or for these sky islands to suddenly appear.

The other strong contender for a possible spoiler in the subtitle is Link himself. Both available trailers prominently feature something ensnaring Link’s right arm, and the gameplay trailer includes illustrations of how the arm may influence Breath of the Wild 2’s gameplay by adding new abilities. Furthermore, Link’s attire and hairstyle as he free-falls mimics the appearance of BOTW‘s Hero From 10,000 Years Ago – and therefore hints at time travel.

Right now, the sequel to Breath of the Wild is mysterious enough that these theories are just two of plenty. Perhaps the title could allude to forces surrounding the mummified Ganondorf under Hyrule, or to a playable Zelda in BOTW2 . Whatever the true title for the sequel might hold, Trinen’s comments flung the door open for more speculation. In the meantime, Nintendo appears to be fine with everyone outside the company calling it Breath of the Wild 2.

Sources: IGN

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