The delays just don’t end this generation. Just months after Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma stressed and confirmed that the eagerly anticipated Legend of Zelda for Wii U would be releasing in 2015, Nintendo has gone ahead and announced a delay- the game will now no longer be shipping in 2015. It has instead slipped into 2016.
“In these last three months, as the team has experienced firsthand the freedom of exploration that hasn’t existed in any Zelda game to date, we have discovered several new possibilities for this game,” Aonuma explained, in the development update video that you can see above. “As we have worked to turn these possibilities into reality, new ideas have continued to spring forth, it now feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds even my own expectations.”
“We are no longer making our 2015 release our number one priority. Instead, our priority is to make it the most complete and ultimate Zelda game,” he added. “I hope to use the added time to make The Legend of Zelda for Wii U into a game that will reward you for your patience.”
That’s not even the worst of it- Nintendo has also confirmed that the game will not be showcased at E3 this year, meaning that a release in the first half of 2016 is now unlikely.
Of course, this isn’t even the first major title this year to have experienced a delay. So far, we have seen delays for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Batman: Arkham Knight, Project CARS, and Uncharted 4, the last one being another major flagship console exclusive that was delayed into 2016.