The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has surprisingly received a new update across both the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2 platforms. First announced back in 2013, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild underwent a prolonged development cycle and didn’t release until 2017. While initially announced for the Wii U, the protracted development led to the game becoming a cross-generation title, launching alongside the then-new Nintendo Switch.
Since its release, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has become not only a high watermark in its franchise but one of the most critically acclaimed titles across the entire medium. Changing the very fabric of the series and challenging its pre-established conventions, Breath of the Wild continues to have a major influence on open-world titles with its sublime, experimental world design, offering massive amounts of player freedom. The game also received a direct sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, in 2023, and both titles received Nintendo Switch 2 Editions at the platform’s launch last June.
The Next Zelda Game Can't Abandon the Four Pillars of Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild
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Zelda Breath of the Wild Update Offers New Language, Gameplay Improvements
Nintendo has released the patch notes for the Version 1.9.0 update to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This update offers Thai language support for the game on the Nintendo Switch 2 if players select the “Thai/English” option in the Switch 2 system menu. While this changes the text to Thai, the audio language does not feature the same support. Therefore, choosing “Match System Settings” from the in-game menu will set the game to English.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
This new update to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild also offers improvements across both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 versions of the game, though Nintendo did not clarify what changes were made. Breath of the Wild is not the only Zelda game to receive an update, as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom also received its Version 1.4.3 update. While also offering vague gameplay improvements, Nintendo notes that this update fixes an issue where the Black Hinox enemy at Hyrule Castle appears undefeated even after being defeated, which would prevent players from earning the Hinox Monster Medal.
It’s nice to see that, even almost a decade after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo continues to make updates to the game (and its sequel) to make sure it’s the best that it can be for players across both Nintendo Switch platforms. Still, the vague patch notes raise questions about what Nintendo is fixing in the games. Players will likely find out over the coming days and report on whether the patches offer general stability improvements or whether certain exploits have been removed.
It’s worth pointing out that this new update could be just a small holdover while Nintendo prepares more Zelda content for the rest of the year. 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda franchise, but Nintendo has been mum on whether it plans to celebrate the franchise in the same way that it’s been celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Super Mario franchise. Perhaps this new update is a light holdover, and Nintendo could be preparing a major blowout for Zelda’s 40th anniversary at the next Nintendo Direct this Summer.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Update 1.9.0 Patch Notes
The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2:
General
-
Added Thai as a supported language. If you set the language to “Thai/English” in the Nintendo Switch 2 system, the text will become Thai.
- The audio language does not support Thai, so if you select "Match System Settings" from the "Options" in the game, it will be in English.
The following updates have been made when playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch:
General
- Several issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 96%
- Released
- March 3, 2017
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
Source: Nintendo Everything