Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the series' most successful launch
A strong start for one of the biggest games of the year.
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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is breaking records in the UK, as it's the biggest Zelda launch ever, and the biggest boxed release of the year.
Tears of the Kingdom being one of the biggest games of the year was an inevitability; Breath of the Wild is one of the most critically acclaimed games ever, and video games are doing better than ever. But now, thanks to GamesIndustry.biz, we know just how big its release was. For one, it's the biggest boxed release of the year, sitting 54% higher than the previous biggest release - though how good sales are overall, we don't know, as Nintendo doesn't share digital sales. Though as noted by GamesIndustry.biz, digital sales are generally much lower than other platforms, so it's unclear how much better it has done.
Not only that, but it's the biggest Zelda launch in the series history, with 2.7 times more sales than Breath of the Wild's launch back in 2017. Breath of the Wild was previously the biggest week one physical release, but Tears of the Kingdom has taken that slot, putting the former in second place, and The Wind Waker in third.
On top of that, it's the eight biggest Zelda game of all time only a few days after launch, beating out Skyward Sword on the Wii and The Wind Waker again on GameCube. Revenue wise it's doing even better, sitting as the fourth biggest Zelda game of all time, only behind Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are still the Switch games with the best opening week sales, with Tears of the Kingdom sitting 12% lower - though as GI.biz's Christopher Dring notes, the dual release of the Pokemon games makes it a bit odd, so ignoring that Tears of the Kingdom is the second biggest UK launch, only behind Wii Fit. But while it sold less copies than Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, revenue is up by 8%, helped in part by the Tears of the Kingdom Collector's Edition.
Even Breath of the Wild has seen a boost in sales, with boxed sales going up 31% week-on-week, even winding up back in the top 10 in eighth place on the UK charts.
None of this should be that much of a surprise, as Tears of the Kingdom is the highest rated game of all time on OpenCritic - with our own review giving the game a full five out of five too.