Botw Update 160 < COMPLETE | 2026 >
For regular Switch/Wii U players: Yes. Absolutely. There is zero downside. It does not remove glitches like "Whistle Sprinting" or "Infinite Stamina gliding." It only improves stability.
For speedrunners: No. The speedrunning community largely rejects 1.6.0. The current "Any%" world records are set on Version 1.0.0 (cartridge, no internet) because later patches fixed duplication glitches and shield clipping. 1.6.0 kills the "Horse Slide" glitch.
For modders: It depends. If you are using the Wii U version for Cemu emulation, stick to 1.5.0 for maximum mod compatibility. If you are on Switch emulation (Ryujinx), 1.6.0 is the standard. botw update 160
The most interesting fan theory surrounding BOTW update 160 is that it secretly lays the groundwork for save-data bonuses in Tears of the Kingdom. While Nintendo never confirmed this, data miners found a new, empty string in the executable named TOTK_BONUS_FLAG. When the update dropped, this was dismissed as a placeholder. However, after Tears of the Kingdom launched in 2023, players who had completed Breath of the Wild on the same console received stable-registered horses and a photo of the Champions. Update 1.6.0 was almost certainly the mechanism that tagged your save file as "eligible" for that transfer.
You might be wondering: "Why update a game from 2017?" For regular Switch/Wii U players: Yes
The answer is simple: Preservation and Accessibility. With the massive success of Tears of the Kingdom, thousands of new players are going back to play the original BOTW. Re-releasing the Xenoblade armor (which was originally a limited-time event) ensures that new players aren't locked out of cool content. Furthermore, the bug fixes ensure the game runs smoothly on the latest Switch hardware.
If you want to verify your version for modding or troubleshooting: If you want to verify your version for
On Nintendo Switch:
On Wii U: