Two British journalists have shared a new rumor that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may be the last big game for the current generation of the Nintendo Switch. Andy Robinson and Christopher Dring shared the new information on Twitter with Robinson saying that the upcoming Zelda sequel will be the last big game before the new hardware is announced. “From what I’m hearing I wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo starts talking about new hardware by 2024,” Robinson tweeted. “I’m not convinced another huge first-party game other than Zelda is left on Switch (usual Nintendo prediction caveats apply…).”
— Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) December 29, 2022 The first-generation Switch is already more than five years old at this point. The handheld console debuted in 2017 with Breath of the Wild being a launch title. Since then, Nintendo has released the Switch Lite and the Switch OLED, but the underlying hardware is essentially the same. The Switch has been showing its age as games like the newest Pokémon Scarlet and Violet having performance issues on the platform. The graphics and framerates were so bad on Scarlet and Violet that players review bombed the game on Metacritic. Dring shared that there are no other significant titles after the launch of Tears of the Kingdom. “No, I didn’t mean literally nothing,” Dring revealed. “I have heard that after Zelda, Nintendo doesn’t have a significant game for quite some time.”
— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) November 17, 2022 Interestingly, Fire Emblem Engage, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, and Pikmin 4 are scheduled for release after Tears of the Kingdom. However, Robinson believes that these are smaller titles compared to the Zelda sequel. Breath of the Wild sold over 27 million copies since its launch and Tears of the Kingdom is expected to sell around 10 million at release. The Nintendo Switch will be due for a replacement soon. Digital Foundry recently revealed that the Switch Pro was being developed but was canceled later on. Nintendo is reportedly focusing on the development of a next-gen console. With these rumors and the cancellation of the Switch Pro, it seems likely that Nintendo is preparing for the release of a new handheld console. However, Nintendo typically releases a new console with a slew of big titles to entice gamers to upgrade their current unit. We may get hints within the year during upcoming Nintendo Direct events.
