The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's End

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's End, is a 2029 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch Infinity. The latest mainline Zelda Game after the massive success of Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Hyrule's End became the largest-selling Zelda Game of all time with over 59,600,000 copies sold as of 2035. Set as a direct sequel to the Adventure of Link, the player plays as Zelda who is trying to gain control of the triforce to bring Link back to life after he was killed by a Ganondorf from another timeline who sought to take the body of Ganon and take control of Hyrule. While an entirely new open world was created with the explanation of changes made to Hyrule after Ganondorf's Hyrule merged with the Hyrule of the Downfall Timeline, it was very similar to the worlds of previous, more traditional Zelda games while keeping aspects of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Adopting a hybrid system of linearity and sandbox gameplay, the game takes on a much darker tone as Ganondorf slowly destroys the kingdom of Hyrule and the people inside. The first T-rated Zelda Game after Twilight Princess, many people complained about the darker and more mature theme the game took, while others praised it for a story far above that of Tears of the Kingdom. Like Tears of the Kingdom, it features a massive open-world with tons of opportunity for creativity, construction, exploring, and gathering with lots of different animals, plants, and foods. However, it is completed in a linear fashion and open exploration, while possible, is much more dangerous and some areas are virtually impossible to enter without completing the previous prerequisite.

Development started immediately after Tears of the Kingdom's release, although it was put on hold after the remakes of the Legend of Zelda (2025) and the Adventure of Link (2027) as well as a smaller 2D game, Legend of Zelda: The Imprisoning War (2028). Significant work was put into the game's building system, which built off of the Physics engines made in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and improved upon them, taking advantage of the Switch Infinity's advanced hardware. Inspiration was taken from Minecraft, Elden Ring, and other games to create moveable terrain that would not have graphics constraints. Randomly Generated Terrain, while not being used in a large amount, was also used in this game. Hyrule's End was originally planned to be a Switch Infinity Release along with the Imprisoning War, although both games and the console itself were delayed until 2028, with the Imprisoning War being a release title.

Hyrule's End was met with generally positive reviews upon its release. Critics praised it for its physics engine that was beyond any other video game in its time, and it was able to use the open-world and building aspects of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom without reusing the same assets. Additionally, the game was praised for having the first playable Zelda in any mainline Zelda game, though the game was criticized for Link's absence. However, many people criticized the story for being needlessly mature and dark, and the graphics were not as advanced as some other games during its time, perhaps because of the game's building aspect. Additionally, while Hyrule's End would get a DLC that allowed for multiplayer function in the entire game, many people criticized Hyrule's End's multiplayer being locked behind the DLC aspect and being poorly implemented in the game. However, the massive leaps and bounds done by the game's developers meant that Hyrule's End was named as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Development
Following Tears of the Kingdom's release, developer Eiji Aonuma stated that they were looking to expand Tears of the Kingdom's gameplay mechanics to a different world and map. This led people to believe that the next mainline Zelda game would take place in a new world outside of Breath of the Wild's map while keeping its open-world engine and physics.

By 2024, Aonuma stated that the next Zelda game's creation had been delayed and that they were working on a remaster of the original Legend of Zelda which would be released in 2025. He also confirmed the creation of a Switch Pro, the next mainline nintendo console, and many believed the next game would be a release title with the console.

In E3 2025, Aonuma revealed the Nintendo Switch Pro, a new hardware system that had much better processing power, graphics, a new virtual reality system, different controllers, and improved motion controls. It would be released in 2027. Additionally, a trailer was released for a game that would later be named The Legend of Zelda: The Imprisoning War was shown, leading many to believe that it would be the next mainline Zelda game. No gameplay details were shown.

In September 5th, 2025, the Legend of Zelda remaster was released. It sold moderately well, with many praising the updated graphics of the new game while preserving the original story.

In October 12th, 2025, a Zelda Employee stated his excitement for the upcoming game, saying that the physics of Tears of the Kingdom were "ramped up to 100." He also revealed that it was "very different" from previous Zelda games.

On February 18th, 2026, the new Zelda Game was named the Legend of Zelda: The Imprisoning War, and another trailer was shown. While this one also had very few gameplay details, there were two shots that revealed that it was going to be a 2D Zelda Game. Many were upset about this, while others voiced their faith in Nintendo that they would make good on their promises.

On April 17th, 2026, a Zelda Employee stated that the first two zelda games were "very important" in the context of the upcoming release of the next mainline Zelda game.

In E3 2026, more shots of the Legend of Zelda: the Imprisoning War were shown, and the new Switch Pro console was named the Nintendo Switch Infinity. The Imprisoning War was confirmed to be a launch title for the Switch Infinity. Additionally, a remaster of the Adventure of Link was announced with shots from it as well. Many fans voiced their complaints that Nintendo seemed to be returning to lower-effort, 2D games after the massive effort and success of Tears of the Kingdom.

In a Nintendo Direct following the E3, a trailer for "the next mainline Zelda game" was shown, followed by a speech from Eiji Aonuma that the Imprisoning War was not what they had been working on this time and that it was intended for players to have some "side fun" while they enjoyed the actual game. Shots for the game were very dark and gloomy, showing off a completely new Link and Zelda, as well as shots of Hyrule Castle, a large forest, and a snowy mountain.

In Q1 of 2027, Nintendo announced that both the Imprisoning War and the Switch Infinity were to be delayed until 2028. More shots were shown of the remastered "Adventure of Link" and it was confirmed to be releasing in April of 2027. Aonuma said that the Adventure of Link was essential to the next Zelda Game.

In E3 of 2027, another trailer of the next Zelda Game was shown, where it still remained unnamed. Zelda's voice actress was revealed, as well as a shot of several nature sceneries, one of a spectacular waterfall in a jungle, another of a massive desert, and a third of a quaint village. Aonuma announced that there were more delays on the release of the game, and it would not be a launch title with the Switch Infinity. He also said that the Imprisoning War's release was going ahead as planned and would be released on April 17th, 2028 along with the Switch Infinity.

In February of 2028, right after the Imprisoning War's final trailer, a third trailer for the new game was shown, and it was named "The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's End". A shot of Ganondorf was shown, confirming he was in the new game. Many people feared because they saw no sign of Link in any of the three trailers. There was also a shot of two large blue birds flying in the sky, leading to speculation about the return of a sky map above the new open-world Hyrule. Aonuma gave an expected release date of early 2029.

In Q1 2029, after silence for almost a year, another trailer was dropped, showing gameplay footage of a playable Zelda, which caused the audience to give an uproar. Additionally, there were sightings of both Link and Ganon, as well as the triforce. Aonuma also announced a collaboration with Illumination Studios to make a Legend of Zelda Movie based off of the events of Hyrule's End, which would be released in 2031. Zelda was shown riding both a Horse and a Loftwing, as well as diving underwater in what looked like Zora Armor. Shots of Goron City and Zora's Domain were also shown. The release of Hyrule's End was stated to be June 2nd, 2029.

In the last trailer for Hyrule's End in April 2029, Aonuma showed gameplay footage of Zelda being able to change Hyrule's terrain and build things. The official art cover of the book was Zelda holding her sword, fighting a strange black beast. Additionally, she was seen on a moving ship, able to walk around and preform tasks, and cutting through wood and building a house. There was also an instance where she talked with several NPCs who had voice acting. Link was absent from the final trailer.

Release
At launch on June 2nd, 2029, the game launched along with several pieces of merchandise, collector's kits, and amiibo, but particularly the Zelda on a Horse amiibo, which was pushed heavily along with the release of the game. By the end of the month, over 5,000,000 copies were sold worldwide. By 2031, the game had surpassed Breath of the Wild to become the largest-selling Zelda game. By 2034, it had passed the Original Super Mario Bros to become the third-largest selling Nintendo Game behind Wii Sports and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and had became the most successful action-adventure game of all time.