Not that surprising.  Xenoblade 3 coming out in September was already looking suspicious for Zelda but an Open World Pokemon coming out shortly after that made this more likely to happen.

A lot of people probably don't realize how big this game will be.  Yes it's reusing old assets, but the amount of new content will probably make it a much bigger game then the first BOTW.

So is the Switch successor going to get announced and this is going to show up as a simultaneous release for both the old and new system?  That's practically become a Zelda trademark.

This is why Nintendo should stop announcing games so early, especially Zelda. It rarely meets these self-imposed deadlines. That said, maybe don’t do that anymore? I get there’s probably pressure from shareholders. Then again, Switch has been cleaning up since launch. Did Nintendo really need to announce a new Zelda game that early?

Can’t say I’m even disappointed. A couple teasers and a vague “2022” release window wasn’t enough to build excitement. I need to see a game in a playable state and at most six months away, preferably three, to pique my interest. Otherwise, I don’t need to care about it yet.

I think this stems from the not-too-distant past where Nintendo consoles had issues with having a full release schedule.  They probably felt they needed to have big games announced ahead of time to give their customers the impression that the system was still being supported and was a worthwhile investment.  "Zelda is coming!  Don't be discouraged that there are only three games coming out for the next four months and buy a competitor's product!"  This isn't necessary on the Switch but old habits die hard and now that they had announced it all those years back they kind of have to provide an update if the deadline passes.

It's like poetry, it rhymes.

I actually wasnt expecting this. Maybe they are now hoping to get it out before the end of March next year.

When they announced the new Pokémon games to release in November, I pretty much figured this was gonna happen.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/06/delays_with_the_legend_of_zelda_breath_of_the_wild_due_to_physics_engine_and_dual_release_decision


https://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=14998.msg211030#msg211030

There is a repeating pattern.

As soon as the new Pokémon games were announced, I figured this was gonna happen.