Sorry to hear. I was already pretty prepared for it, but this just confirms further that they're never going to make any proper Zelda games again.

You cant know that, some of future Zeldas can easily be more linear like before.

https://twitter.com/AllSourceGaming/status/942636669575905280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.rawgit.com%2Fs9e%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fmaster%2Fiframe%2Ftwitter.min.html%23942636669575905280

Aonuma confirms that work on the next Zelda has already begun.

If the next flagship Zelda comes out before 2023 I will be shocked.

I don't envy Aonuma and his team having to follow up Breath of the Wild. The pressure to live up to the sky high bar it has set will be insane.

I thought BOTW was awesome. But I would love to see another new Zelda game. Maybe focus more on fighting next time around and a little less puzzles.

Since BotW style looks to be the most popular Zelda has ever been, they’re going to be able to ramp up the size of the dev team. That also means more design staff. Aonuma can basically have a similar style job in focusing on the overall concept. I would say he can aim for 2020 with a non-Hyrule direct sequel. This has worked for past Zelda games as well as other open world franchises.

You're right that I can't know, but with how hard they went our of their way to cater to people who didn't like Zelda before (and of course, many people who did like Zelda also ended up liking BotW) I think it's fairly safe to say they've abandoned the old fans who didn't. Especially with how well it's selling.

You're entirely right that I can't know for sure. But I see zero reason to be optimistic about it, unfortunately.

I wouldn't mind a top-down Zelda, or a more traditional, more story-driven one.

I'm replaying OoT 3D and having a blast.

New 3D Zelda will come after Switch Pro - probably 2021/2022.

I like the Robin Hood/Django design that concept has.