Although The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's biggest franchises, its 35th anniversary seems to have slid largely under the radar. Apparently, the company decided to push back celebrating The Legend of Zelda in favor of releasing several new Mario games to mark the Super Mario franchise's 35th anniversary. A Nintendo insider recently leaked information suggesting that Nintendo will finally be putting the spotlight on The Legend of Zelda during 2021's The Game Awards.
The Game Awards is a celebration of the best games released in the last year, but it also hosts the world premiere of new games. This wouldn't be the first time a new title--or a new trailer--for The Legend of Zelda franchise was unveiled at The Game Awards.
Samus Hunter, a self-described "General Nintendo insider," shared a post to their Twitter account stating that the celebration for The Legend of Zelda's 35th anniversary would continue into The Game Awards 2021. As of writing, the anniversary has mainly been marked by a special The Legend of Zelda Game & Watch system and the remaster of Skyward Sword. This could suggest that the anniversary's long-delayed main celebration will be arriving at The Game Awards this year, or it could suggest that whatever celebration is waiting will be equally low-key.
It may make sense to fans that Nintendo decided to delay The Legend of Zelda's anniversary until after E3 when Super Mario was also being celebrated that year. While The Legend of Zelda is a beloved franchise, Mario is one of the most recognizable characters in the world. Of course, it's not guaranteed that The Legend of Zelda will even appear at The Game Awards. As a rule, leaks should be taken with a grain of salt, but with Breath of the Wild 2 still largely unknown, it would be a good time to put a spotlight on the franchise.
As of writing, it appears that fans are excited about the possibility of a late celebration for The Legends of Zelda's 35th anniversary. With several big titles including Returnal snubbed from The Game Awards, an announcement for The Legends of Zelda franchise might also work in The Game Awards' favor. Several users replied to Samus Hunter's post with hopes that more information about Breath of the Wild 2 will come to light, while others requested remakes and remasters of their favorite The Legend of Zelda games. Another simply requested more The Legend of Zelda titles make their way to Switch.