Nintendo's Ocarina of Time Remake Is Coming to Switch 2 in 2026
Nintendo closed its June 2026 Nintendo Direct with the biggest surprise of the show: a full remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2 and due sometime in 2026. The original 1998 Nintendo 64 game holds a Metacritic score of 99 — based on 22 critic reviews — making it the highest-rated game ever recorded on the platform. No other title has matched it in 28 years.
The remake, not a remaster
Nintendo is calling this a full rebuild from the ground up, not the kind of visual polish job the 3DS version offered back in 2011. The word "reborn" appeared in the official announcement, per VGC, suggesting a modern engine overhaul rather than a simple resolution bump. That distinction matters: it means the game could see meaningful changes to controls, combat, and structure — though Nintendo showed no gameplay footage whatsoever. The teaser was a brief, voiceover-only affair with no confirmed release date beyond the 2026 window.
What this means for Switch 2 owners
The announcement lands during Zelda's 40th anniversary year, which raises the cultural stakes considerably. A live-action Zelda film is also scheduled for April 2027, making a late-2026 remake release a natural cross-promotional fit. For Switch 2 adopters, Ocarina of Time is shaping up to be a major system-seller — there's no comparable 3D action-adventure exclusive on the platform expected before the end of the year.
Pre-order pages have not yet gone live at major US or UK retailers. Pricing is unconfirmed, though comparable legacy remakes — think the recent Resident Evil rereleases — have typically landed in the £40–50 / $50–60 range. Nintendo has promised more details later in 2026, per GameInformer.
The outlook
For anyone who grew up with Ocarina of Time — or who only knows it by reputation — a proper ground-up remake on modern hardware is a genuine event. The lack of gameplay footage keeps expectations cautious for now, but Nintendo rarely announces something of this scale without the goods to back it up. More information is coming before the end of the year.
