While there’s surely some time until the next Legend of Zelda game releases, a job listing from Nintendo hints at the return of proper dungeons to explore.
It wasn’t too long ago that the launch of Nintendo Switch was capped off with the simultaneous release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As one would expect, the 2017 Game of the Year is one of the system’s best-selling titles, surpassing 10 million in total sales as of last month (with an additional two million copies sold for the WiiU). With Breath of the Wild coming up on its second birthday this March, there have been some sightings that Nintendo is looking for people to help work on whatever the next game in the franchise may be.
There are reportedly two new job listings for Nintendo’s Zelda team based out of Kyoto, Japan. The first job listing is for a 3DCG Designer, with job responsibilities including “topography” creation for dungeons, and well as level and concept design for dungeons. Topography is defined as “the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area.” In the context of the job listing, it could lead to speculation of dungeons returning for the next Zelda.
The second job listing is a more general Level Designer role. Requirements for the listing include backgrounds in Maya and Adobe Photography, experience working on HD hardware, and experience working as a game planner for consumer games. Given the scale of Breath of the Wild‘s open-world, the role will have a high standard to reach given Nintendo’s constant care of their beloved franchises.
With the amount of time since the release of the last game, and with the DLC expansions wrapping up late last year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise Nintendo has begun working on the next adventure for Link. There’s no confirmation of when the game will launch, or even if it will come to the Nintendo Switch, but the unannounced Zelda title is likely in the status of pre-production or early production at the least. With the description of the job postings, how far along could Nintendo be in development? And will dungeons play a prominent role in the next entry?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
