The Legend of Zelda struggled before Breath of the Wild, former staff say

Former Nintendo marketing leads Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang say The Legend of Zelda was in serious trouble before the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Ellis states internal data and focus groups showed audience interest was shrinking and new players were not joining. Yang adds the franchise was struggling commercially, requiring major changes at the company.

The Legend of Zelda · official art via IGDB

Ellis rejects claims that the team walked away from the traditional formula while it was still very popular. Official financial reports show the Nintendo Switch version reached 34.28 million copies sold by the end of September, while The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom moved 22.9 million units. Ellis and Yang believe the massive success of the open-world design does not prove it is inherently superior or obligate the team to use that approach for future entries.