Just in. Nintendo has confirmed a remake of the beloved classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Switch 2.
The game is coming in 2026, with an announcement landing during today’s Nintendo Direct presentation. “The Nintendo 64 classic returns for a new generation in 2026, reborn exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2.” Nintendo stated.
The short teaser trailer (see below) makes it clear this isn’t a light remaster but a proper remake. The footage showed a sleeping young Link rendered with dramatically improved detail which is a world away from the blocky N64 original. The remake is expected to rebuild the game from the ground up and modernise gameplay, controls, and potentially include new content, although Nintendo is keeping its cards close to the vest for now.
Originally released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64, Ocarina of Time was a critical and commercial success and is often cited as one of the best-reviewed games of all time. It carries a Metacritic score of 99, topping the site’s all-time list.
The franchise defining game established what a three-dimensional game design could be, Z-targeting system, day/night cycle, emotional story arc of a boy who becomes a man only to wish he hadn’t, and all. Everyone remembers where they were when they first played this classic slice of gaming history.
The game already received a remaster on Nintendo 3DS in 2011, featuring improved controls and touchscreen support. The effort was well-regarded, but modest in ambition. What’s being described now feels like something else entirely.
The Ocarina of Time remake is widely seen as Nintendo’s way of celebrating the Zelda franchise’s 40th anniversary in a manner that doesn’t require a full mainline AAA release, buying time, generating heat, and giving Switch 2 a flagship title with a built-in legend behind it.
Nintendo’s announcement also confirms a report from earlier this year, corroborated by multiple sources, which claimed that a new Star Fox game and an Ocarina of Time remake were both coming later this year.
As for timing, some have speculated the remake could drop in November, the same month the original launched in 1998, which would potentially put it up against Grand Theft Auto 6 on non-Nintendo platforms. A bold swing if true, but Nintendo has never seemed particularly worried about playing by the industry’s conventional rules.
It’s not yet clear which studio is working on the remake, but the mainline Zelda team last released Tears of the Kingdom in 2023, leaving the door open for their involvement.
