Although Nintendo had hinted at moving away from the "Breath of the Wild" era, recent leaks suggest that the next mainline open-world The Legend of Zelda title may still continue this lineage. According to renowned gaming leakers Shpeshal Nick and Jeff Grubb on the Xbox Era podcast, a third open-world entry in the series is currently in development, following Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Considering that The Legend of Zelda series has rarely released direct sequels, let alone a trilogy, this news is quite surprising. However, the massive critical and commercial success of the first two titles undoubtedly provides ample justification for moving forward with a third entry.
According to leaks, the new title will further expand the dimensions of exploration based on Tears of the Kingdom—just as the previous game added sky islands and the underground world, this installment will introduce a "dimensional jump" mechanic. Players can traverse between different dimensions through rifts in reality, using objects or events in one dimension to affect another.
Leaked examples include: players can lure a bull to charge at a specific target in one dimension, thereby opening a door in another; or use water flow in one dimension to move objects in another. This puzzle-solving approach is consistent with the series' classic "time-space interplay" design.
Notably, the new title is said to use the same world and engine as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, featuring only optimizations and iterations on the previous games. This means the exploration and control feel may be similar to its predecessors. However, given Nintendo's previous statements about the "Breath of the Wild era," this new title might not be officially labeled as part of that series—it could be set hundreds or even thousands of years later, serving as a spiritual successor rather than a nominal sequel.
The leakers also pointed out that the new title is still quite far from release, with an expected window between 2027 and 2029, leaning more towards the latter end. In the short term, Nintendo's potential Direct presentation on September 10 is expected to focus primarily on already announced titles for 2026, such as the Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time, while the new game may only receive a teaser trailer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series.
It is important to emphasize that the above information comes solely from leaks and podcast discussions, and has not been officially confirmed by Nintendo. Please refer to official announcements for accurate details.