Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

 is an upcoming game in. Story wise, it is a prequel to, taking place 100 years prior to the events of that game, during the second HWAoC:.

Gameplay
The gameplay is seemingly similar to 's which is itself a based on Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors series of video games, in which characters fight large armies of enemies and generals on a battlefield, with the the setting and characters originating from, specifically from. As such, it is set to be more combat-intensive that most Zelda games, with hordes of enemies on the screen at once.

The player controls multiple characters throughout the game, known as Warriors, including Link, Princess Zelda, Mipha, Urbosa, Revali, Daruk, Impa, Robbie and Purah through the story, with the player being able to switch characters on the fly depending on the scenario. Most of the hordes of enemies are based on weaker enemies, like Bokoblins and Yiga clansmen, with stronger enemies like Guardians, Lynels and Yiga Blademasters appear as stronger single units. Warrior characters also fight alongside regular Soldiers and other playable characters, and the game will alert if an ally requires assistance. The game also features multiple locations throughout 's Hyrule that function as battlefields, including the Akkala Citadel, Hyrule Field and the Lanayru region.

This game takes place over 100 years before Link was brought to the shrine of resurrection, so locations that were shown in ruins in such as Lon Lon Ranch and other towns and cities will be shown as they were before the calamity.

The game features local simultaneous multiplayer co-op, allowing players to split up to complete objectives and cover more ground more effectively. Footage of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity gameplay from the Nintendo Treehouse live event. Nintendo Treehouse: Live | October 2020

Development
By mid-2012, following the reception to SS -, producer Eiji Aonuma had determined that the franchise was in urgent need of reinvention, in order for it to remain relevant. Aonuma decided that the development team would focus on rethinking the conventions of Zelda, and that this would largely center around two misconceptions:


 * 1) That Zelda games needed to be linear
 * 2) That Zelda games were strictly meant to be single player experiences

The development team tackled the notion of non-linear Zelda games with and. While both games were in development, Nintendo was approached by Dynasty Warriors publisher Koei Tecmo, whose studios had previously worked with the company on titles like Metroid: Other M and Fatal Frame, with a proposal to develop a new kind of Zelda game. The original pitch by Koei Tecmo producer Yosuke Hayashi involved elements that were staples of Zelda, such as dungeon exploration, but Nintendo fellow Shigeru Miyamoto asked that Hayashi graft the world of Zelda onto Dynasty Warriors gameplay instead.

At the time, Aonuma had been playing One Piece: Pirate Warriors, another Warriors-style game developed by Koei Tecmo, and saw the potential in a similar crossover with Zelda. Development of this game, dubbed (Zelda Musou in Japan), was completed in 2014, making it the first multiplayer Zelda game since Four Swords Adventures. In parallel, a small portion of the Zelda team also worked with Grezzo, the studio responsible for and, to develop , a three-player Zelda game for the Nintendo 3DS.

As work progressed on, Aonuma began thinking of ways to explore another multiplayer Zelda title, this time using lessons the team had learnt from the development of that game. Once development had wrapped, Aonuma approached Hayashi and Koei Tecmo regarding the possibility of developing another Hyrule Warriors title, this time set within the world of specifically. The game would depict the that had taken place prior to the events of, as Aonuma felt the setting provided an appropriate backdrop for Warriors-style gameplay, which focused on battles against large armies of enemies. Hayashi and his team were asked to collaborate more closely with the Zelda development team at Nintendo this time around, on elements such as gameplay, graphics, the depiction of Hyrule, and all character dialogue.

Limited Edition
A limited treasure box edition of the game will be released in Japan. It will include a copy of the game, an acrylic art plate, a parasail blanket, and a metal charm.