Nintendo has apparently provided a fresh new timeline for The Legend of Zelda series, one that famously splits off into three different branches after Ocarina of Time. We now have an idea of where the most recent entries–Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom–fit into the franchise’s chronology. Spoilers: They don’t, instead being placed into their own little timeline.
Vooks spotted the new Legend of Zelda timeline at Nintendo Live over this past weekend in Sydney, Australia. The image–seen below–was shared on X by Wario64, showing Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom separated from the official chronology that begins with Skyward Sword.
Zelda timeline at Nintendo Live 2024 (Sydney) shows that Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild are placed separately from past Zelda titles https://t.co/2xw3t3yPyM pic.twitter.com/wBYQsS5TnW
— Wario64 (@Wario64) August 31, 2024
Previously, there was a thought that Breath of the Wild brought the three branches back together and corralled them into a new single sequence as the “last” game. However, this new graphic appears to rule that out. This would mean the timeline has become even more confusing, putting it on par with the Halloween movies. However, the North American website for the Zelda franchise has not updated with any placement for Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom.
It’s always sort of seemed like Zelda fans cared a lot more about the timeline than Nintendo ever has. In fact, an official Zelda timeline wasn’t even publicly available until the Hyrule Historia book arrived in the early 2010s, decades after the video game franchise was born on NES.
Keep in mind the updated timeline doesn’t even touch on where the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom might land. GameSpot just got a recent hands-on with the Switch exclusive and notes it plays like a mini Tears of the Kingdom. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will launch September 26.
