The rumors were true: Nintendo is remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo Switch 2. The remake of the Nintendo 64 classic, widely hailed as one of the best games of all time, will arrive in 2026 to mark The Legend of Zelda series’ 40th anniversary.
Little was shown, but the game looks to completely overhaul the look of the original Nintendo 64 version — and depart drastically from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom‘s visual style. Nintendo describes the new Ocarina of Time as being “reborn” on Switch 2.
The reveal trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2026) is brief and features narration from the Great Deku Tree that’s similar to the opening scene of the original game. Link, the lone Kokiri villager without a fairy, is shown sleeping restlessly. In the original Ocarina of Time, Link is having a vision of Sheik and Zelda escaping Hyrule Castle while being pursued by Ganondorf. In the remake, we see the Triforce begin to glow on Link’s left hand during this nightmare.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was originally released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 console. The follow-up to The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Ocarina of Time radically changed the series from a 2D, top-down perspective to full 3D environments. The game also introduced concepts like the target-lock system (aka Z-targeting) and context-sensitive buttons, which have since become commonplace in 3D adventure games.
Nintendo re-released Ocarina of Time for the GameCube in 2003, bundling it with the harder Master Quest game mode as part of a pre-order bonus for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. A remake, featuring stereoscopic 3D effects and quality of life improvements, was released for Nintendo 3DS in 2011.
Other games in the Zelda franchise have been rereleased with “HD” or “DX” visual updates, including The Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Twilight Princess. Perhaps the most radical reimagining to date has been the Switch version of Link’s Awakening, which was rereleased in 2019 with a bold new graphical style.
Earlier this year, Nintendo and Lego released a buildable version of the iconic final battle from Ocarina of Time. The 1,003-piece Lego set features a giant Ganondorf and minifigure versions of Link and Zelda. Available now, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Final Battle Lego set costs $129.99.
Nintendo also has big plans for The Legend of Zelda franchise in 2027. A live-action movie from director Wes Ball will bring the Zelda series to the big screen for the first time. The untitled Legend of Zelda movie stars Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (The Haunting of Bly Manor) as Link and Bo Bragason (Renegade Nell) as Princess Zelda and opens in theaters on April 30, 2027.
