2026 marks the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, and it’s fair to say the first real “tease” for the next main game in the series hasn’t gone down brilliantly with fans.
For those that might have missed the news towards the end of last year, Zelda head-honcho Eiji Aonuma confirmed that the next Legend of Zelda adventure may take inspiration from Koei Tecmo’s Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. This hack-and-slash spinoff has the honor of being the first Zelda released for Nintendo Switch 2, but not everyone is keen to see more.
What Does The Legend Of Zelda’s Future Hold?
We’ll have to wait and see
It’s important to stress that Aonuma’s comments could be interpreted in a number of ways. What I think we can be certain of is that the next mainline Zelda won’t be a hack-and-slash game with a focus on cutting down hordes of enemies. I think the larger concern among fans based on Aonuma’s comments is the possible implication that we could be stuck in the Breath of the Wild timeline.
Let’s be clear: everyone loves The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s a stunning game with a gorgeous open world and a wonderful visual style. But this has also been the default Zelda template since 2017, lasting through two main entries and two spinoffs. One of the best things about Zelda is its ability to reinvent itself constantly, so after nearly a decade of the “Wild era”, fans are ready to move on.
“This could mean a lot of things, but I am ready to move off the BOTW/TOTK world,” one fan writes on Reddit. “It was a fun era, but I hope they do something different.”
The majority of fans seem to want to keep the open-world approach introduced in Breath of the Wild, but find a better balance between freedom and the structured dungeons Zelda has always been so well-known for. Tears of the Kingdom definitely came closer to classic dungeons, but still not quite where some fans wanted it.
“My hopium is that they keep the open world, but cut its size like, at least by like a third or even half, and instead give us like seven meaty dungeons that interconnect seamlessly with the world and its underground,” one fan says. “Shrines can stay conceptually, but more diversified in terms of theme.”
Another fan laments: “These open world, do whatever you want games just don’t have the Zelda identity to me. Every time I play them it makes me think of other games. It’s a shame we won’t get much of the traditional Zelda games cuz the new open world games make more money than any other game titles.”
2026 Is A Big Year For Zelda
What are you hoping to see?
While there’s absolutely no way the new Zelda will release in 2026, there’s definitely a chance Nintendo will use the 40th anniversary to give us our first look at the game. We’ve also got a brand-new LEGO set and a Zelda movie to look forward to, so there’s plenty to come.
As far as The Legend of Zelda is concerned, I trust Aonuma and his team to bring us something unexpected, original, and unmistakably Zelda. I wouldn’t say no to a fully open-world sequel to The Wind Waker, personally, but I think it’s far more likely the next mainline game will be something completely new. Watch this space.
