The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild[a] is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch and Wii U video game consoles. The game is a part of The Legend of Zelda series, and follows amnesiac protagonist Link, who awakens from a hundred-year slumber to a mysterious voice that guides him to defeat Calamity Ganon before he can destroy the kingdom of Hyrule.
The game had a lengthy development period that spanned five years. In conceiving Breath of the Wild, series producer Eiji Aonuma wanted to reform the gameplay conventions of the Zelda series. As a result, the title's gameplay introduced new mechanics and designs, including featuring an open-world environment, a detailed physics engine, high-definition visuals, and voice acting. Announced in 2013, the game was initially planned for release as a Wii U exclusive in 2015, but was delayed twice prior to its release on March 3, 2017. Breath of the Wild was a launch title for the Switch, as well as the final Nintendo-produced game for the Wii U.
Breath of the Wild received universal acclaim from critics, who deemed it to be one of the greatest video games of all time, and was the recipient of numerous Game of the Year awards, among others. Critics praised the game's open-ended, physics-driven gameplay that encourages player experimentation and exploration, with many calling it a landmark title in open-world game design, although minor criticism was directed at the game's technical performance at launch, which was improved through post-release updates. The game broke Nintendo's sales records in numerous regions, with the Switch version of the game far exceeding sales of the Wii U version, selling over four million copies worldwide by September 2017, making it the best-selling game on the system.
