The 1.6.0 update for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released on April 25, 2019 (North America) and April 26, 2019 (Europe/Japan). While appearing minor on paper, it introduced a major new way to play and an unadvertised technical overhaul that changed the game's performance. Major Features: Labo VR Compatibility
The primary focus of version 1.6.0 was adding full compatibility with the Toy-Con VR Goggles from the Nintendo Labo VR Kit.
Full Game Support: Unlike other games that offered specific VR "missions," 1.6.0 allowed players to experience the entire main game in VR.
Toggle Options: Players can enable or disable the mode via the "System" options in the in-game menu.
Immersive Perspective: The camera follows Link’s movement, allowing players to look around Hyrule by moving their heads, though the game remains in a third-person perspective. The "Hidden" Technical Overhaul: Faster Load Times
While not explicitly detailed in the official Nintendo patch notes, the 1.6.0 update significantly improved technical performance: zelda botw 1.6.0 update
CPU "Boost Mode": The update introduced a feature that increases the Switch’s CPU clock speed specifically during loading screens.
Speed Improvements: Technical tests found that load times were reduced by approximately 31% to 37%.
Warping: Loading a save or teleporting to a new location dropped from roughly 16 seconds to 10 seconds.
Shrine Entry: Entering a shrine saw a reduction from 8 seconds to 6 seconds.
Speedrunning Impact: This change was particularly significant for the speedrunning community, as it allowed for faster runs across various categories. Bug Fixes and Gameplay Adjustments The 1
Beyond the VR support and performance boosts, 1.6.0 included several smaller fixes and adjustments:
Physics Fixes: Nintendo addressed a specific glitch at the Dako Tah Shrine where pushing a Lizalfos could break the physics engine.
Localization: The update modified credits to include localization teams for the Korean and Chinese versions released in earlier versions.
General Stability: As with most Nintendo patches, it included vague "adjustments... to improve the gameplay experience". How to Update Your Game To ensure you are on version 1.6.0 or higher: Connect your Nintendo Switch to the internet. Highlight the Breath of the Wild icon on the Home Menu. Press the + or - button to open the Options menu. Select Software Update and then Via the Internet.
Yes, for three reasons:
No, if you are a Glitch Historian. Version 1.5.0 is the "Age of Discovery." 1.6.0 is the "Age of Colonization." The fun, chaotic bugs that made BotW a playground for YouTube creators (like the Infinite Jump or the Moon Jump) are gone. They have been replaced with a polished, serene, and slightly sad finality.
To understand 1.6.0, you have to go back to 1.5.0 (April 2018). That update was the last to add anything substantial: support for The Champion’s Ballad and Trial of the Sword telemetry, plus a few memory optimizations. After that, Breath of the Wild entered a maintenance state. The game was complete. Hyrule was stable.
Then came November 2019 — two weeks before the launch of Pokémon Sword & Shield, and exactly four months before Animal Crossing: New Horizons would swallow the world. But more importantly: Breath of the Wild 1.6.0 dropped without a single news post from Nintendo of America. No trailer. No tweet from Aonuma. Just an automatic download.
Beyond VR, 1.6.0 quietly squashed lingering bugs, particularly those related to The Champions’ Ballad DLC. Veteran players noted fixes to the physics of the Master Cycle Zero (the motorcycle rune), addressing rare instances where the vehicle would clip through the ground or behave erratically on uneven terrain.
More importantly, the update patched several memory-management issues. Breath of the Wild is famous for its "chemistry engine," but that complexity came at a cost. Over long play sessions, the game’s framerate would occasionally stutter in heavily forested areas like Korok Forest. Update 1.6.0 refined this memory allocation, offering a slightly smoother experience for players still exploring Hyrule years after launch. It was a final act of polish—a developer sweeping the floor one last time after the guests have left. The Verdict: Is Version 1
Most casual players never used Apparatus Storage. For them, 1.6.0 was a non-event. Some even reported slightly better loading times and fewer crashes, though these were anecdotal.