The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom release date confirmed in Nintendo Direct - Upcomer
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Logo for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which has a May 2022 release date
Screengrab provided by YouTube via Nintendo
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom release date confirmed in Nintendo Direct

Plus, new Fire Emblem and Pikmin games are on the way
Image of Dylan Tate
Dylan Tate
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Published: Sep 13, 2022 11:39 am

Nintendo shared announcements about a number of upcoming Nintendo Switch titles during a Nintendo Direct on Tuesday. At the end of the Direct, Nintendo revealed the release date and title of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s sequel, now known as Tears of the Kingdom.

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will launch on May 12, 2023, nearly four years after its initial reveal at E3 2019. Originally, the game was slated to launch sometime this year. However, The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma announced in March that the developers would delay the release date of Tears of the Kingdom to the spring of 2023.

A gameplay trailer shown in the Direct highlighted the player’s ability to traverse the skies of Hyrule with Link. Aonuma said in his March update that there would be more gameplay elements beyond exploring the ground and the skies. However, Tuesday’s Direct did not provide any further details about these gameplay elements.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom release date and more from the Direct

Alongside the release date reveal for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct was headlined by the announcements of the latest entries for multiple prominent Nintendo franchises. Among them were Fire Emblem and Pikmin.

In Fire Emblem Engage, the player controls a protagonist who has been asleep for 1,000 years. This protagonist can call on previous Fire Emblem heroes, like Marth, for support. Meanwhile, Pikmin 4 will be the first main series Pikmin game in a decade.

Players with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription will be soon able to play many additional Nintendo 64 games. These include games in the Mario Party and Pokémon Stadium series. In addition, GoldenEye 007 is coming to Nintendo Switch Online with online multiplayer.

Several existing Switch games are also receiving new downloadable content. New courses are coming to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, golf will enter Nintendo Switch Sports, the mechanical Ino can join the player’s party in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and Pauline and Diddy Kong will join Mario Strikers: Battle League as playable characters.

In addition, an upcoming Splatoon 3 Splatfest will force players to choose what they would bring to a deserted island: gear, grub, or fun. This Splatfest will run from 8 p.m. ET on September 23 to 8 p.m. on September 25.

For a full overview of the Nintendo Direct’s announcements — including a surprisingly high number of JRPGs and farming simulators — fans can see individual trailers on the Nintendo YouTube channel.

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Image of Dylan Tate
Dylan Tate
Dylan Tate is an alumnus of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a gaming journalist with a love for Nintendo esports, particularly Super Smash Bros. and Pokémon.
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