Just this week, Nintendo finally announced the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It’s been a long-rumored, worst-kept secret since it was leaked earlier this year, and even the 2026 window has panned out.
Nintendo has only shown us a sliver of gameplay (surprising, since it’s out in less than six months), but for now, fans are just enjoying the reveal and speculating as to what has and hasn’t changed. Truth be told, not much needs to be altered, as the original still holds up, especially on 3DS, with some quality-of-life upgrades here and there.
Over on Reddit, fans are discussing the “perfect” time to release The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which is seemingly going head-to-head against Grand Theft Auto 6.
Despite the competition from Grand Theft Auto 6 on November 19, Nintendo has the rare chance to actually take this juggernaut head-on and release some counter-programming to the M-rated GTA 6.
So far, fans are confident that Ocarina of Time on Switch 2 will hit the 2026 target, with a potential November date: “I’m guessing November 5th. November isn’t off limits cause of GTA VI, especially on Switch 2 where it’s not releasing. 2 weeks is still a decent sized gap from GTA, they don’t need to fear it but releasing too close might affect sales if it was within a week.”
Others are sure they know when it’s actually coming out: “It’s November 20th, to align with the original release date of November 21, 1998 which was 28 years ago. You can mark my words on that.” Some fans agree: “I really don’t think this is even a question. It will be November. It’s their Holiday release. I’m betting either the 13th or the 20th.”
A select few think an October release is a good shout, and would beat GTA 6 to the punch: “I would put my money on October if I had to make a prediction. They have a history of putting out big releases that month (Mario Wonder and Odyssey) and it also feels like a lot of their recent late spring ‘by the way, it comes out this year’ had that kind of trajectory.”
Last year, Kirby Air Riders was Nintendo’s holiday release as a Switch 2 exclusive, and was out on November 20. Either way, the game seems pretty much finished, if the release date is less than six months away. Nintendo has a lot of options here.
With the cat out of the bag for Ocarina of Time, now fans can focus on the next potential remake: Majora’s Mask. It would feel weird for Nintendo to remake one and not the other, given how closely they’re intertwined.
That said, Zelda: Ocarina of Time is now one of the most accessible Zelda titles ever released, since it’s available on Virtual Console and other digital platforms, as well as a prior remake on 3DS. Nintendo is keen on ensuring this one never gets stuck on the Nintendo 64 forever, dating all the way back to the anniversary GameCube re-release alongside Majora’s Mask.
- Released
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2026
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- Number of Players
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Single-player