Nintendo is moving ahead at top speed with development on Breath of the Wild 2, but we haven't received an update in an awfully long time.
The second instalment to the series is gradually becoming one of the most highly-anticipated games of 2020, and it may take a much darker turn than it's predecessor.
That said, we didn't really think it could be finished as early as 2020.
Continue reading to find out how early we can expect to see Nintendo's flagship title on shelves.
The leak
A series of tweets from Nintendo Japan went viral in May 2018, as they seemed to imply that Nintendo was looking to hire some experienced level designers for upcoming titles.
The Zelda community latched on to this overshare of Nintendo Japan
While this didn’t explicitly confirm a release date, it all but confirmed that Breath of the Wild 2 was in early stages of development and on track for a 2021 release.
READ MORE: Breath of the Wild 2 theory suggests an ancient evil will return to Hyrule
However, an infamous leaker named Sabi (@New_WabiSabi) has claimed that BOTW 2 is due for release in 2020.
Check out the tweet below:
Sabi seems pretty confident in his source
But, as Sabi points out, "Zelda release dates are historically delayed, internally or publicly".
While Sabi is a pretty reliable leaker, it's always worth taking rumours with a big pinch of salt.
Can we trust Sabi?
The Spiel Times journalist leaked most of the big announcements from E3 2019 before they happened – reportedly earning himself a cease and desist order from Nintendo.
RISE: An ancient evil is reborn in a dark dungeon beneath Hyrule
Nintendo hasn't shared much information other than the trailer, but the trailer has given rise to a series of fan theories ranging from probable to utterly preposterous.
Check out our BOTW 2 fan theory piece here.
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While a 2020 release date is much sooner than we expected, Sabi points out that it's likely that we will see a host of delays.