Zelda Officially Kicks Off 40th Anniversary With Multiple September 2026 Releases
Published Jul 15, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT
James is a gaming writer from London who has spent thousands of hours exploring titles from every genre. Though he has a particular affinity for multiplayer titles like World of Warcraft, Destiny 2 and League of Legends, he has also put thousands of hours into single-player experiences, from deep RPGs to epic PC strategies. When he's not playing or writing, he can usually be found supporting his beloved Brentford FC.
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There's no doubt that 2026 is a massive year for The Legend of Zelda, with the franchise celebrating 40 years since its inception, with the launch of the first game in February 1986. Interestingly, up until recently, things had been quite quiet on the Nintendo front, with many questioning where exactly all the celebrations were to mark the occasion.
That changed with the announcement of the long-rumored Ocarina of Time remake, which really got the juices flowing amongst fans for more exciting reveals. Though things have been pretty quiet since, that could all be about to change, as we may finally have details around Nintendo's plans to officially mark the major milestone.
As first reported by CBR, it appears as though September is going to be the big month for Zelda fans, with a bunch of already confirmed releases. Not only that, but the idea of a Zelda-centric Nintendo Direct is also gathering momentum, with many insiders putting it forward as potentially happening in the same month.
In terms of what is absolutely confirmed at the time of writing, the Breath of the Wild vinyl soundtrack release is now set to drop on September 4, after a delay to their original plans. Equally, the Sage Mineru, Tears of the Kingdom’s final amiibo, is also set to be handed over to players on September 17.
In the months following, there also other confirmed physical releases, with the Tears of the Kingdom companion book Secrets of the Zonai coming in October, and the very premium life-sized Decayed Master Sword coming in November.
The idea of a 40th anniversary Direct has been put forward by several insiders on the Attack the Backlog podcast, who have been predicting the timeline that Nintendo is likely to employ. Ocarina of Time is supposedly scheduled for release around early November, meaning September or very early October are the standout candidates for the developer to show off more of the game.
Whatever does end up happening with new releases and Nintendo events specifically, it's a fairly safe bet that the overall celebrations around the 40th anniversary of Zelda are far from done. We also have the movie adaptation to look forward to at the same time, though there is a bit of a longer wait. That is now officially scheduled to release in cinemas on April 30, 2027, which would also make September/October perfect for another early look at that.
Movie(s) The Legend of Zelda (Live-Action)
First Game The Legend of Zelda
Character(s) Link, Princess Zelda, Ganon
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