Breath of the Wild 2 hiring spree offers an exciting update for fans

It’s been a long time since we’ve had Breath of the Wild 2 news. In fact, we’ve gotten no official updates at all since its trailer debuted at E3 2019. Nintendo even went out of its way to say it wouldn’t be talking about the game during its last Nintendo Direct.

Fans have to go to great lengths to even figure out the status of the game. While we’ve seen hints and rumors over the years, a new hiring streak is worth noting for fans who are desperate for updates. Could it mean things are kicking into high gear for the final stages of development?

Breath of the Wild co-developer Monolith Soft is doing some serious staffing right now. The Japanese company is currently undergoing what it’s calling a “major expansion.” Through it, the studio will fill many new roles in its Kyoto, Japan office.

Just how big is the expansion? Monolith Soft has around 40 open job listings up on its site that cover a wide range of roles. They include all the basics, from designers to programmers.

For Zelda fans, there’s one particularly interesting detail here: Monolith’s website includes a page for Zelda-specific jobs, specifically five roles. The jobs don’t specify what game the jobs are for, but they do note they’re for work on the Zelda series.

It’s a significant move when placed in the context of Monolith Soft’s history with the franchise. The studio has worked on several Nintendo titles over the years, though its main focus is the Xenoblade series. Nintendo often uses the team as a support studio to assist with some of its biggest titles, like Splatoon 2 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Monolith Soft has also previously offered support on several Zelda games, including Skyward Sword and A Link Between Worlds. That culminated with the team helping on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but there’s been no confirmation that the studio is working on the sequel.

Monolith Soft has gone on a similar hiring spree for the Zelda series in the past, but it never specified which game it was working on. All of this raises questions as to whether or not the team is working on Breath of the Wild 2.

Considering Monolith Soft’s role in the past three major Zelda games, it’s safe to assume they could be working as ringers on this. Nintendo has placed a lot of trust in the team over the years, which has paid off in the Switch era. It’s only natural that the studio would also be tapped to help Nintendo recapture BOTW’s magic.

That said, this could be for an entirely different project too. Considering that Monolith Soft worked on the original Skyward Sword, it’s always possible that they’re helping out with the HD remaster. There’s also always the possibility of an unannounced title. Rumors have been kicking around about Wind Waker and Twilight Princess Switch ports for the franchise’s 35th anniversary, so the studio could always been providing support there.

While nothing’s concrete, Monolith Soft’s continued involvement in the series is good news for fans. Anyone that helped bring Breath of the Wild to life is actually who you probably want helping on the series moving forward.