The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold a staggering 10 million copies in just its first three days on sale, making it the fastest-selling game in the franchise and one that's outpacing mega hit Elden Ring. Hype has been incredibly high for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom since the game was first announced in 2019, and it seems that the game has lived up to expectations in more ways than one.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has earned near-universal acclaim and stands tall as one of the absolute highest-rated video games ever made. Critics have praised the game for its puzzles, innovative new gameplay mechanics, and engrossing open world. Zelda fans have responded positively to the game as well, as evidenced by the game's jaw-dropping sales numbers.
Initial reports indicated that Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was about to break sales records in the UK for the franchise, but now Nintendo's updated data has confirmed that the game has enjoyed similar success all over the world. With a whopping 10 million copies sold in its first three days, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the fast-selling game in series history, which is saying something when one considers that it is Nintendo's first $70 game. For comparison, fellow open world game Elden Ring sold 12 million units in three weeks, meaning Tears of the Kingdom is seriously outpacing FromSoftware's epic. This is made even more impressive when one considers that Tears of the Kingdom is only available on the Nintendo Switch while Elden Ring launched for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Nintendo is going to want to keep the Zelda franchise's momentum going strong, and so it's no surprise that future installments will likely stick to the open world format. It was recently suggested that Tears of the Kingdom's sequel will be an open world game as well, but further details on what it may entail will have to wait. It's likely that such a game will eventually release for the Nintendo Switch successor console, and with Tears of the Kingdom having just launched, fans can expect to wait years before getting a glimpse of Link's next adventure.
Luckily, Tears of the Kingdom should keep Zelda enthusiasts plenty busy in the meantime. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's open world is truly massive, with players able to freely explore Hyrule, the skies above Hyrule, and the caverns beneath it. It's got content galore, and so it should be quite some time before franchise fans are ready to move on to the next installment.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.