160 — Botw Update

When 1.6.0 dropped in late 2021 (coinciding with the Tears of the Kingdom title reveal), fans theorized it added 60 FPS support for Switch Pro. It did not.

Data miners found unused frame rate variables in the code, but they were never activated. The game remains locked to 30 FPS on Switch hardware.

BOTW update 160 (1.6.0) was released quietly in late 2021 (with some regional variants appearing in early 2022). Contrary to fan hopes, it did not add:

Instead, Update 1.6.0 is almost exclusively a compatibility patch for the then-upcoming Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack and specific save data transfers.

Nintendo’s official patch notes were famously sparse, reading only: "General stability and gameplay improvements." However, the community has reverse-engineered the update to reveal three core changes.

Based on datamines and Nintendo’s official patch notes (vague as they are), here are the confirmed modifications in 1.6.0:

BOTW update 160 is not the content drop fans dreamed of. It is not a 4K patch for the Switch Pro that never existed. It is a quiet, responsible, back-end compatibility patch designed to keep Breath of the Wild talking nicely to Nintendo’s modern infrastructure and the upcoming sequel.

But for completionists, save-transfer enthusiasts, and Nintendo Online subscribers, Version 1.6.0 is essential. It fixes minor wounds in a masterful game and ensures that your 100-hour journey across Hyrule remains intact for years to come. botw update 160

Verdict: 3/5 stars for content, 5/5 for stability.

Have you noticed any other changes after installing BOTW update 160? Check your Travel Medallion data—you might be surprised.

Keywords used: BOTW update 160, Version 1.6.0, Breath of the Wild patch notes, Nintendo Switch update, Master Cycle Zero fix, NSO cloud save Zelda.

A smaller but notable fix in BOTW update 160 addresses a niche physics bug. Since the Trial of the Sword DLC, the Master Cycle Zero could, under specific framerate fluctuations (common on OG Switch hardware in the Hebra region), clip through the world geometry when boosting.

Version 1.6.0 applied a hard boundary-check on the Cycle’s boost collision. Players immediately reported that the Master Cycle now feels slightly "heavier" and less prone to launching into orbit during Blood Moons.

Breath of the Wild 1.6.0 is the game’s “final form” —the version Nintendo wants preserved for future hardware (likely the Switch 2’s backward compatibility). It’s cleaner, safer, and more stable, but it’s also less wild.

If you’ve only ever played the cartridge without updates, you’re on 1.0.0 (the land of flying trees and infinite arrows). If you download the patch today, you’re on 1.6.0. When 1

It’s not exciting. But for a game this beloved, sometimes the last update is simply a respectful goodbye.

Have you noticed any changes in 1.6.0? Do you miss the old glitches? Let me know in the comments below.

Keep exploring, Hyrule.

This update primarily prepared the game for the first DLC pack, The Master Trials. Key additions included:

The Master Trials (DLC 1) Support: Enabled access to the Trial of the Sword, Master Mode, Hero's Path Mode, the Travel Medallion, and new armor pieces for those who purchased the Expansion Pass.

Expansion Pass Menu: A dedicated menu was added to the title screen to manage and view DLC content.

General Fixes: Various minor gameplay adjustments and bug fixes were implemented to improve the overall experience. How to Install Updates Instead, Update 1

Nintendo Switch: Select the game icon on the HOME Menu and press the + or - button, then choose Software Update.

Wii U: Connect to the internet and launch the game from the Wii U Menu; the update will download and install automatically.

Cemu (Emulator): You can install update files manually by going to File > Install Game DLC or Update and selecting the folder containing the v160 update data.

If you are interested in modifying game text or exploring more advanced updates like the BOTW Randomizer, these tutorials provide a direct demonstration: