Gamers better start counting down if they weren’t already, because only 100 days remain before one of 2023’s most highly-anticipated games, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, finally comes out. In case anyone needs a reminder for whatever reason, Tears of the Kingdom is the long-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, one of the most critically-acclaimed games of all time. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a followup to Link’s first truly open-world adventure for years now, but at long last, with the game set to come to Nintendo Switch on May 12, the wait is in its final stretch.
These last 100 days will cap off a rather excruciating period for Zelda fans. Things started off strong when Nintendo first revealed that Breath of the Wild was getting a sequel in 2019, teasing deeper mysteries and greater dangers for Link and Zelda to face. From there, however, Nintendo became rather cagey with information, releasing only two brief gameplay trailers in the years since and not revealing the game's full title until September 2022. Delaying it from its original 2022 launch window to 2023 also didn’t help make the radio silence any easier to deal with.
Assuming the game doesn’t get delayed again – and the fact that Tears of the Kingdom recently got an ESRB rating suggests it won’t – Nintendo’s bound to finally get the marketing for the game in gear over the next few weeks. After all, it only has 100 days to get people excited for all the new features it’s only teased so far, like Link’s new powers or the islands floating over Hyrule that players will be able to explore.
Given the short window to hype the game before launch, it’s becoming more and more likely that a new Nintendo Direct is imminent. Recent changes to the Nintendo eShop seem to be suggesting as much, and with other big Nintendo games coming out in 2023, including Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon and Pikmin 4, it would do Nintendo good to get the marketing machine rolling at full speed as soon as possible.
It may seem odd that Nintendo is waiting this long to start hyping the game up properly, but this does reflect a trend in recent years of it opting for far shorter reveal-to-release cycles than usual. Examples of this include recent Zelda games such as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, both of which were announced within five months of their eventual launch.
It goes without saying at this point that Breath of the Wild left a huge impact on gaming as a whole, its influence being seen in subsequent blockbusters like Genshin Impact and Elden Ring. That’s a tough act to follow, and while fans have been made to wait a long time to learn concrete details about its sequel, they only have 100 days left before they can finally experience it for themselves.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launches May 12 for Nintendo Switch.