After the landmark release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in 2023, many fans are no doubt curious as to what's next for the franchise. Nintendo has already confirmed that no Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom DLC was in the works, as the studio has told every story it wants to tell in this iteration of Hyrule.
The implication of that statement is pretty clear: the next brand new Zelda game is likely to follow franchise tradition and feature a new Link, a new Zelda, and a new Ganondorf (or antagonist) in a new Hyrule. Of course, such a task is easily years out and probably not even conceived yet, and many may be curious about what the franchise is up to in 2024.
While it's true that there are no new Legend of Zelda games confirmed for 2024 as of this writing, there's no real reason to worry. The franchise could easily take an off-year and rest on its laurels if it wanted to; Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was one of the best games of 2023 after all, which itself has proven to be a landmark year in the industry. However, that's not going to happen, as fans can anticipate plenty of news on the horizon.
Zelda News is Possible for February 2024
The exact issue with Zelda news in 2024 is pinpointing what it is. Fans shouldn't expect a brand new mainline title to drop this year, nor should they expect one to be revealed. New spin-off games in the veins of Hyrule Warriors aren't impossible, nor is some form of Switch re-release or remaster.
However, it may be possible to narrow down when such news could be revealed. It's basically tradition at this point that Nintendo hosts a Direct sometime in February, typically focused on the games releasing in that year.
Games like Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Princess Peach: Showtime, and more are likely to be there, but Nintendo always has more to show off than its beloved plumber. If anything in the Zelda franchise is happening this year, it'll probably be there.
And if it happens to be an off-year for anything video game-related for Zelda, then fans can no doubt check out classics, replay the latest games, and still get their worth out of the franchise this year.
One possibility for the Nintendo Direct is Zelda: Wind Waker and Twilight Princess coming to the Switch. Fans have been begging for this for quite some time now, and as rumors mount about a Switch 2 and the next mainline title being far, far out, there's hardly a better time to make this a reality. However, it should be mentioned that these rumors basically come at a dime-a-dozen, so fans shouldn't hold their breath.
Speaking of unlikely rumors, the Switch 2 constantly rears its head as well. The latest rumor suggests that the Switch 2 is coming in September 2024; if that's the case, then fans could reasonably expect to hear about it at the presumed Nintendo Direct in February.
A new Switch model would likely mean something for Zelda in conjunction, given its status among Nintendo's various IPs. However, this rumor is best taken with not a grain of salt, but the whole salt shaker.
The Legend of Zelda Movie News Will Likely Be Indirect
Even if Zelda games are not pushed heavily in 2024, that's not to say the franchise won't be getting any attention whatsoever. Aside from potential surprise announcements like a music tour, Nintendo and Sony are confirmed to be working on a Zelda movie, alongside Arad Productions.
The Legend of Zelda movie will be an "amazing tale of adventure and discovery," according to Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. Very little is known about the live-action movie, as it has yet to properly enter production, but there are a few names associated with the project:
Given its current status, fans shouldn't expect a ton of news in 2024, but Sony and Nintendo will no doubt comment on it a couple of times. Casting, storyline, and obvious trailers are not likely for this year, but developments regarding its production status, possible rumors and leaks, and more are bound to happen.
Ultimately, 2024 may not be a "groundbreaking" year for the Legend of Zelda franchise, but like every year, it's bound to be a good one. Instead of one major release, fans may be treated to arguably smaller ones and a plethora of smaller updates. That, if anything, is more than enough for fans, as well as the proven franchise.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the sequel to the beloved open-world adventure, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This installment once again sees Link and Zelda battling to protect Hyrule from falling to Ganondorf.
This new adventure takes place in the same land of Hyrule as Breath of the Wild but sees something called the Upheaval, which allows link to travel to Sky Islands, as well as deep into the Depths beneath Hyrule. Players can use special abilities to fuse together weapons, and build items to help them progress through the release.
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