After months of leaks, retailer slip-ups, and speculation, Nintendo made it official at today's Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct: the Ocarina of Time era on Switch 2 has real dates attached.
October 29, 2026 — the special-edition Switch 2 console and matching Pro Controller launch, along with a carrying case. This is the hardware we've been tracking since this site launched, and it's now just weeks away from becoming pre-order reality rather than a rumor.
November 5, 2026 — the actual game, a full ground-up remake built from scratch rather than a touched-up port, launches exclusively on Switch 2. Nintendo confirmed full voice acting, a manual jump button, a roll/dash ability, an unlocked free-moving camera, a "Threads of Time" progress menu, and support for a real-world Ocarina peripheral that uses the console's built-in microphone.
Why the gap between hardware and game?
It's consistent with how Nintendo handled the Tears of the Kingdom OLED in 2023 — that special edition launched about two weeks ahead of the game itself. Special-edition hardware tends to ship slightly ahead of the software it's themed around, giving early adopters time to unbox and set up before launch day. We go deeper on that pattern in our history of Zelda special editions.
What we still don't know
Official pricing for either the console bundle or the game itself. A since-pulled Nintendo Australia eShop listing pointed to a digital price near $59.99 USD for the game — with physical likely landing around $69.99, in line with recent first-party Switch 2 remakes like Star Fox and Yoshi and the Mysterious Book — but Nintendo hasn't confirmed U.S. pricing directly for either the game or the hardware bundle. We'll update the moment pricing goes live, likely alongside pre-orders opening in the coming days.
For the full leak-to-reveal timeline, see our hardware roundup. We'll add pre-order links to our products directory the moment they're live.