‘Breath of the Wild 2’ delayed to 2023; new PlayStation Plus revealed

Two major developments shook the video game world Tuesday morning: the announcement that Nintendo will delay the release of its “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” sequel to spring of 2023 and new details from Sony regarding PlayStation’s PlayStation Plus service, which will begin in June.

Producer Eiji Aonuma announced the delay for the upcoming Zelda game in a 90-second video pushed out on social media. The highly anticipated follow-up to a title some consider the best game ever made was first announced in 2019 and had originally been scheduled for release this year.

“We have decided to extend our development a bit and change the release to Spring 2023,” Aonuma said in the video. “In order to make this game’s experience something special, the entire development team is working diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer.”

Sony’s news dropped in a post on PlayStation’s blog site, where president and CEO Jim Ryan announced the upcoming launch of a revamped PlayStation Plus subscription service. The new model features three tiers, with the most expensive ($119.99 annually) allowing users to access up to 740 games from all generations of the platform dating back to the original PlayStation. That option, dubbed PlayStation Plus Premium, includes PS3 games that will be playable via cloud streaming, as well as “a catalog of beloved classic games available both in streaming and downloadable options from the original PlayStation, PS2, PSP and PS4 generations.” That access will be limited to markets “where PlayStation Now is currently available.”

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PlayStation Now, Sony’s on-demand gaming services, is currently offered in the U.S., Canada, Japan, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Players can stream games using the PS4, PS5 and PC, though PC users in Japan will be unable to do so until it is “supported in a future update.”

“At launch, we plan to include titles such as ‘Death Stranding,’ ‘God of War,’ ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man,’ ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales,’ ‘Mortal Kombat 11’ and ‘Returnal,' " Ryan wrote in the article. "We’re working closely with our imaginative developers from PlayStation Studios and third-party partners to include some of the best gaming experiences available with a library that will be regularly refreshed.”

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The first tier of the new version of the service will remain similar to today’s version, with users paying $59.99 annually for online multiplayer access, two monthly downloadable games and cloud storage for saved games. The Extra tier ($99.99 per year) includes all of those components as well a “catalog of 400 of the most enjoyable PS4 and PS5 games” from both Sony and third-party studios that are downloadable.

In addition to the expanded game catalog and streaming options, the Premium tier includes “time-limited trials” of games so users can sample them before buying.

The announcement noted that local pricing may vary, along with the PlayStation Plus catalog titles on offer, which may “vary by market and tier, and may change over time.”