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Following the announcement that the company is pushing back the launch of the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 from its previous '2022' release window to 'Spring 2023', Nintendo shares dropped 6% in Tokyo trading yesterday.

As reported by Reuters, the slump comes after a 25% year-to-date climb, with Switch still selling strongly thanks to its strong software lineup and steady influx of new, well-received titles like Pokémon Legends: Arceus in January and, more recently, Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Of course, delays and Zelda games go hand-in-hand, and through the news is disappointing to fans, it's certainly not unexpected. "In order to make the game's experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer" said series boss Eiji Aonuma in a 'Launch Timing Update' video posted to social channels on 29th March.

The recent announcement of the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which is scheduled for a late 2022 release, means that Nintendo has another huge franchise entry lined up for launch over the lucrative holiday season, and with the continued strong sales of evergreen titles — plus big hitters like Splatoon 3 and Bayonetta 3 also scheduled for this year — the company's 2022 lineup is looking strong even without BOTW2.

There are sure to be unannounced games in the works, too, and it seems that Zelda fans are generally understanding about the delay.

[source reuters.com]