The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom supercharge the series as Switch Zeldas account for 40% of all sales

GamesActionThe Legend of ZeldaThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom supercharge the series as Switch Zeldas account for 40% of all salesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. GamesActionThe Legend of ZeldaThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom supercharge the series as Switch Zeldas account for 40% of all salesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Nintendo) The Legend of Zelda has a legacy stretching back almost four decades, but the series is nowhere near ready for a mid-life crisis considering the Nintendo Switch entries account for 40% of all series sales. Nintendo released their fiscal yearresultsjust yesterday, where we received updated sales numbers for the Nintendo Switch itself (141.32 million units sold), alongside several Nintendo-published games. What’s perhaps most notable from the data is thatThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildhas now sold over 33.5 million copies (Wii U numbers included), while its sequelTears of the Kingdom sits pretty with 20.60 million copies sold in less than a year. The two open-world romps are easily the best-selling games in the 38-year-old series, and once you include sales from the Link’s Awakening remake and Skyward Sword HD remaster, over 40% of all Zelda sales came from Nintendo Switch outings. Nintendo properties normally have unbelievably long shelf lives - Pokemon and Mario are still at the peak of their popularity decades on - but what makes Zelda’s recent performance so impressive is that, traditionally, the series hasn’t performed like a blockbuster. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now over 20.61m copies worldwide.Adding 330k units this quarter.It’s the 2nd bestseller in the franchise.More than 40% of Zelda games sales were made on Nintendo Switch. pic.twitter.com/Xwrt0hjJR4May 7, 2024 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now over 20.61m copies worldwide.Adding 330k units this quarter.It’s the 2nd bestseller in the franchise.More than 40% of Zelda games sales were made on Nintendo Switch. pic.twitter.com/Xwrt0hjJR4May 7, 2024 Twitter user Pierre485 put together a handy graph breaking down the series' commercial history, embedded above, where we can see that past Zelda games usually sell half, or less than half, of what Breath of the Wild andTears of the Kingdommanaged. Maybe it’s four decades of great game design paying off. Maybe Nintendo’s open-world pivot and physics mayhem finally did the trick. Either way, I hope other publishers take note to invest in developers and unique ideas for the long-term - rather thanaxing studios at the first sign of trouble- because who knows? 40 years later, you might have a middle-aged-Zelda on your hands. Check out ourupcoming Switch gamesguide for a look ahead at everything in the pipeline for Nintendo’s console. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more CATEGORIESNintendo SwitchPlatformsNintendo CATEGORIES PRODUCTSThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomLegend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild PRODUCTS More about the legend of zelda2024 was the year The Legend of Zelda lived up to its name, and the result was a bit like mixing rock salt and floral nectarThis new indie D&D campaign setting brings Studio Ghibli and Zelda: Breath of the Wild aesthetics and worldbuilding to the tabletop RPG, and I’m already scheming hard as a DMLatest26 years later, Codemasters' Chris Southall talks Colin McRae Rally: “We wanted to do something that was an authentic rally experience for the hardware of the time"See more latest► More about the legend of zelda2024 was the year The Legend of Zelda lived up to its name, and the result was a bit like mixing rock salt and floral nectarThis new indie D&D campaign setting brings Studio Ghibli and Zelda: Breath of the 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trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now"2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star 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Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 1 Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”