Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2D Fan Project Shut Down, Will Continue In A New Form

A Zelda fan recently released a demo for a project that essentially turned Breath of the Wild's 2D prototype into a playable game. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo has now shut it down, although the developer doesn't plan to abandon their work altogether.

WinterDrake, the fan behind Breath of the NES, has tweeted what they say is a DMCA takedown from Nintendo of America. It complains that the game makes use of various Nintendo copyrights, and as a result, it's no longer available for download through itch.io. Similar fates befell a number of fan projects last year, including a pair of impressive Pokemon titles.

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Despite this inevitable setback, the game will move forward as what WinterDrake describes as a "spin-off project." This will take the form of "a bigger, better original version" that features higher-resolution artwork. They also say that "all of the gameplay and design" from Breath of the NES will make it into the new game.

It seems WinterDrake was anticipating this move from Nintendo. The dev said the move to use the copyrighted material was a "planned decision." Asked specifically why they hadn't waited for the game to be completed and shared before publicizing it, WinterDrake responded, "Not much fun to develop something in silence without getting feedback and publicity."

No specifics about the new game have been shared yet, but you can check out a trailer and some screenshots for the existing version above.