Breath of the Wild Remaster Seemingly Leaked for Nintendo Switch 2

One of Switch's biggest games is apparently jumping to Nintendo's new system.

By Marc Deschamps

Last year, select members of the gaming media were apparently given a look at the successor to Nintendo Switch at a closed door event during Gamescom 2023. During that event, journalists were reportedly shown an enhanced version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running on the system with a higher framerate and resolution compared to the version that launched alongside Switch back in 2017. At the time those reports surfaced, we weren't sure if this would be an actual release, or merely a tech demo meant to show the system's abilities (which is pretty common for Nintendo systems). However, a new leak suggests that it's the former, rather than the latter. 

According to the leaker known as Midori, "there is a project at Nintendo with the codename U-King-O." Following that post on Twitter, user Skipper93653 pointed out that the original internal codename used for Breath of the Wild was "U-King." both Midori and Skipper noted that Nintendo often adds a suffix to ports and remasters when they make the jump to another system, using Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker as one example. The game apparently had the codename "Kinopio" on Wii U, and then "Kinopio-S" on Switch, as well as "Kinopio-C" on 3DS. If all of this information is correct, games that are ported to Nintendo's Switch successor will use the suffix "-O." 

Can This Leak be Trusted?

As with any rumor, readers are encouraged to take this with a grain of salt. However, it should be noted that Midori has an excellent record when it comes to leaks and rumors; recently, they accurately revealed the existence of Sonic Rumble several months before it was officially announced by Sega. Coupled with those reports from Gamescom last year, it really does seem like we're going to get an enhanced port of Breath of the Wild on the tentatively named "Nintendo Switch 2." Since we don't know for sure if the new system will be backwards compatible, it remains to be seen whether this will be offered as a paid upgrade, or as a standalone game. 

If it's an upgrade that can be purchased or obtained for free by current owners of the game, it will be interesting to see if other Switch games get a similar treatment. There are a lot of Switch games that could benefit from an upgrade, and it makes sense to start with Breath of the Wild given how popular the game is. Nintendo could also use it as a way to convince current Switch owners to upgrade to the new system. 

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When Will We Learn About the Next Nintendo System?

Nintendo has yet to officially unveil the successor to Switch, but we can expect to learn about it in the near future. A few days ago, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa announced that the new system will be unveiled at some point before the end of the company's fiscal year in March 2025. We don't know when exactly, but it will not happen during next month's Nintendo Direct. Instead, that presentation will focus on games coming to the current Nintendo Switch. 

Are you excited to learn about Nintendo's next system? Do you plan to upgrade when it comes out? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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