Nintendo to Release The Legend of Zelda for Android and iOS: Report

Nintendo could bring The Legend of Zelda to Android and iOS as early as this year. Don’t expect a release date anytime soon though. According to the Wall Street Journal, The Legend of Zelda for smartphones will follow the mobile debut of Animal Crossing — Nintendo’s long-running social simulation series.

“The people familiar with the matter said the Animal Crossing smartphone app is likely to be released in the latter half of 2017, and The Legend of Zelda would follow that, although they cautioned that the timing and order of the releases could be changed. Nintendo is developing the games with Tokyo-based DeNA Co. Representatives of Nintendo and DeNA declined to comment,” writes the Wall Street Journal.

Considering how well The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did on the Nintendo Switch, it’s no surprise that Nintendo wants to capitalise on the series’ return to form. Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda would follow Miitomo, Super Mario Run, and Fire Emblem Heroes — three titles the Kyoto-based company has already released on Android and iOS.

How much Nintendo would charge for The Legend of Zelda on Android and iOS is yet to be known. Considering Super Mario Run was a one-time purchase, others like Fire Emblem Heroes were free-to-play with microtransactions.

And while the last entry in The Legend of Zelda series took an open-world, survival-themed approach over the traditional linear set of dungeons, how Nintendo adapts it for its mobile debut remains to be seen. Safe to say you won’t be seeing a straightforward port of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for smartphones.