The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has finally gone gold, official release date revealed

Due to past delays, fans have been anticipating the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for a while now. Thankfully, publisher Nintendo has announced that their upcoming open-air adventure has at last gone gold. In simpler terms, the development process of the game has been wrapped up. It only awaits distribution to retailers across the globe. This means that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been greenlit for its May 12, 2023 release date with no further obstructions.

This information was recently unveiled at the latest gameplay showcase centered around the game. With that said, it should come as a sigh of relief for fans who were worried that the game could be pushed back further.

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Here's what this means for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

When first announced back in 2019, Zelda fans were ecstatic to hear about the sequel. The 2017 precursor, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, wowed critics and gamers alike with its innovative approach to open-world design, experimentation, and exploration. It elevated the genre from a gameplay standpoint. It goes above and beyond modern open-world tropes that are riddled with fetch quests, objective-infested maps, and handholding markers.

This is thanks to a minimalistic map design, an unobtrusive free-roam, and a physics system that encourages experimentation. To this day, players are coming up with new ways to accomplish objectives in Breath of the Wild using alternate methods, like stacking together weapons to conduct electricity. Tears of the Kingdom embodies all of that and more, in a package that seems to raise the bar once more. Now that fans need not worry about further delays, they can rest easy and anticipate the final product which will likely exceed expectations if the latest footage is any indication.

With the final release in May 2023, players will only need to wait a couple of months longer to get their hands on the game. In the meantime, pre-orders for the game have gone up, albeit at a $70 price tag that many have scoffed at. Additionally, Nintendo has also announced a Tears of the Kingdom-themed Nintendo Switch OLED model edition. Furthermore, a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and even a Nintendo Switch carrying case centered around the same have been unveiled.

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What can players expect from the game?

Gamers once again control the beloved protagonist Link on a brand new journey across the post-apocalyptic world of Hyrule. Taking place after the events of Breath of the Wild, a new evil has risen to strike fear throughout the land. Tears of the Kingdom is based on the same gameplay fundamentals as the first game, regarding its combat, traversal, and exploration. However, new additions have been unveiled in the latest footage that should make it one of the most creative and complex open-world games yet.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set for release exclusively on Nintendo Switch.