The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD for the Nintendo Switch. The player controls Link as he searches for Princess Zelda and fights to prevent Ganondorf from destroying Hyrule. Tears of the Kingdom retains the open-world gameplay and setting of its predecessor, Breath of the Wild (2017), but features new environments, including islands floating in the sky and a vast underground area called the Depths. It introduces construction elements, allowing the player to create devices that aid in combat or exploration.

EPD began working on Tears of the Kingdom following Breath of the Wild's completion, with the director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and the producer Eiji Aonuma reprising their roles. The gameplay concepts originated from ideas for Breath of the Wild's downloadable content that exceeded the scope. EPD was inspired by social media posts to create mechanics that encouraged experimentation. They drew inspiration from Wii Sports Resort (2009), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), and Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), seeking to develop a game similar to but distinct from Breath of the Wild.

Nintendo announced Tears of the Kingdom via a teaser at E3 2019, before its full reveal at E3 2021. It was released on May 12, 2023, to acclaim, with praise for its expanded world, new mechanics, scale, and story, though the frame rate received criticism. It sold over 10 million copies within three days and 22.40 million by December 2025, making it the Switch's eighth-bestselling game. An enhanced port was released for the Nintendo Switch 2 in June 2025, while a spin-off, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, was released in November 2025.