The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the Nineteenth installment in the Legend of Zelda series and is the successor to The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. The development team decided to stray from the linear formula in which the Zelda series was known for and to bring the series back to its roots. Similar to the original Legend of Zelda released on the Nintendo Entertainment system in 1986, Breath of the Wild implements an open world design providing players very little instructions and allowing them to choose their own path forward making for a unique gameplay experience.

Nintendo wanted to reinvent the series and provide fans with a new experience. They accomplished this by developing an open world centered around a second to none physics engine, as well as implementing voice acting which was a first for the series. Nintendo enlisted help from Monolith Soft who had a vast experience with open world games from working on their Xenoblade series. Monolith Soft assisted by designing landscapes and topography.

Nintendo invested heavily in the development of Breath of the Wild allowing their internal teams to work on the title for 5 years. The game was an instant success upon release and was praised for its open-ended gameplay and attention to detail. Breath of the Wild became a landmark in open-world design setting the bar for other developers to match.