Zelda Ocarina of Time remake leads UK physical game launches in 2026

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake recorded the fastest-selling physical launch of any game in the United Kingdom during 2026 and posted the second-biggest Zelda debut in series history on physical sales alone, placing it behind Tears of the Kingdom but ahead of Breath of the Wild in UK series debuts.

Chris Dring, editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Game Business, shared the UK sales assessment on social media on November 8, 2026, citing Nielsen IQ data. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is the UK’s second-biggest Zelda launch of all time (physical sales only),” Chris Dring said. Dring called the remake the fastest-selling old school Zelda adventure his outlet has ever reported on, and made the comments as initial UK sales data became available after the remake’s release date.

First-week UK sales were 35% higher than Breath of the Wild’s 2017 launch on Switch and Wii U. The figure reached roughly half of Tears of the Kingdom’s first-week performance in 2023.

Breath of the Wild launched when an estimated 13.56 million players owned a Wii U, and the game was also a launch title for the Nintendo Switch, which had zero adopted units on its release date. Tears of the Kingdom benefited from more than 125 million Switch consoles already purchased by May 2023. Notebookcheck used these install base figures to explain why the two Zelda titles faced different sales environments despite belonging to the same series. Notebookcheck also cited substantially different console install bases as a major factor behind the differing launch paces.

The Switch 2 game targets an install base of more than 26 million console owners, while reaching 100 million units will take several years. Notebookcheck said the system may outperform its predecessor.

The remake’s 2026 UK physical competition includes Resident Evil Requiem and Call of Duty, with Nintendo Insider also naming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and EA Sports FC 27 as multiplatform rivals. Notebookcheck states the Nintendo console exclusive is seeing a healthier UK debut than any multi-platform rival. Notebookcheck identified Resident Evil Requiem and Call of Duty as the leading competition for 2026 physical arrivals in the UK market.

The physical Switch 2 version crossed 100,000 pre-orders in 30 days at one point on Amazon US before release, aided by buyer interest in the limited textured foil cover. Grand Theft Auto 6 did not reach 100,000 pre-orders in 30 days on Amazon US and depends more on Xbox and PlayStation Store. Notebookcheck said buyer interest in the limited textured foil cover helped drive the pre-order total.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is expected to achieve historic sales upon its November 19th release, potentially ending the remake’s UK physical launch record. GoNintendo said Nintendo would likely keep that record for a couple of weeks before Grand Theft Auto 6 releases, and Notebookcheck identified November 19th as the Grand Theft Auto 6 unlock date.

The launch happens at 12 AM ET on November 5, 2026 exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2 under a local midnight schedule. Preloads began October 29 and the game requires 24.5 GB of storage on Switch 2. Some regions gained access on November 4, 2026 because the Switch 2 release used a local midnight schedule instead of a single global unlock time, so areas such as the western coast of North America could play starting November 4. The remake is available physically and digitally on Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch 2 worldwide.

The remake includes manual jumping, sprinting, free camera controls, expanded environments, expanded Hyrule Castle Town, and a Threads of Time tracker while retaining loading screens and no fast-travel points. It also features fully voiced characters in cutscenes, quick item swapping, and the Ocarina songs that reach major dungeon locations and the Temple of Time.

The original Ocarina of Time launched in 1998 for Nintendo 64 as the first 3D Zelda title and became one of the highest-rated titles ever made. IGN’s wiki entry says the original came out almost 30 years before the remake.

Notebookcheck says the project’s identity as a remake instead of a new Zelda game has not blocked sales so far, and calls the outcome encouraging for Nintendo even though the UK represents just one major market. Christopher Dring of The Gaming Business disclosed the initial UK sales figures days after launch.