The announcement of Nintendo’s “Zelda” sequel, “Tears of the Kingdom,” delay sparked uproar, joy, and unfortunate coincidences within both the Nintendo and “Legend of Zelda” fandom online. Reviving the fans of The Legend of Zelda used to be quite easy, however the intended audience (introducing younger fans, hardcore gamers, and game critics) has changed with the release of “Breath of the Wild” on March 3, 2017; this has made even the mention of a sequel by Nintendo a double-sided topic. 

The first mention of a sequel to the beloved game “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” was in 2019 at Nintendo’s E3. An E3, short for Electronic Entertainment Expo/Electronic Entertainment Experience, is a large-scale trading and previewing event for the video game industry.

However, the trailer debuted at the E3 2021 event. It captured Nintendo fans with scenes of a carved temple, the reveal of the beautiful “Zelda” style sky island scenery, and both returning and previously seen game mechanics. Unfortunately, in March of 2022, Nintendo announced that the game had been delayed to Q2 2023 (Quarter 2, April, May, and June). Confirmation of this came with Nintendo’s “Nintendo of America” Youtube account posting the official trailer: “‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’-Coming May 12, 2023” on September 13 of this year.

Controversy online surrounding the unfortunate coincidence of the title, and the contents of the upcoming game, blew up the internet, going viral on multiple platforms such as TikTok and Youtube; the problem being the untimely death of Queen Elizabeth. Nintendo even withheld the reveal, canceling their UK livestream event out of respect. Instead the update was posted to Youtube.

This story originally appeared in the print edition of the Orange R in December 2023.