Nintendo’s The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom breaks record, sells 10 million copies in 3 days

The Legend of #Zelda: #TearsOfTheKingdom has sold over 10 million copies worldwide in its first three days, becoming the fastest-selling game in the history of the Legend of Zelda series.

Thanks to those already enjoying Link’s latest adventure! pic.twitter.com/XxRSLaiWrO

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 17, 2023

For context, Harry Potter spin-off Hogwarts Legacy, which was released for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in February, sold 12 million units in 14 days. Another hit game Cyberpunk 2077 sold 13.7 million copies in 21 days. Meanwhile, Grand Theft Auto 5 generated $800 million in sales on the first day, and $1 billion in three days, an all-time record. However, unlike Tears of the Kingdom which is a Switch exclusive, all those games were made available on multiple platforms.

“Many players are returning to Hyrule with all its new mysteries and possibilities, and with the record-breaking launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo Switch, we can’t wait to see what they’ll create in the game and the stories they’ll share next,” said Devon Pritchard, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications.

Nintendo’s “Zelda” series was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, with the first game making its debut in 1987 for the original Nintendo console, the NES. The Zelda series is regarded as the industry’s longest-running and most influential game franchise. In fact, the Zelda series is considered a “bible” in the gaming community. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,” released in 1998, was the first game in the series to feature 3D graphics. It remains the highest-rated game on Metacritic, with a score of 99 out of 100. “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” released in 2017, sold around 30 million copies worldwide, was the debut title for the Nintendo Switch. The game set a new standard for the open-world format in video gaming.

Six years later, Nintendo is debuting Tears of the Kingdom which is a sequel to Breath of the Wild. It is situated on the same map of Hyrule, but expands the world.

With sales of the Nintendo Switch declining year-over-year, experts believe Tears of the Kingdom has the potential to boost hardware sales of the ageing console. The Switch, in its seventh year of release, has sold more than 130 million units, according to Nintendo.

Despite a slump in sales of the Switch, Nintendo has had a breakthrough year so far. Earlier this year, Nintendo launched Super Nintendo World in Los Angeles, a theme park attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. Then, in April, the Japanese gaming giant released The Super Mario Bros. Movie, an animated movie based on its most loved character, Mario, which went on to earn more than $1.21 billion, making it the biggest release of the year so far.

For years, analysts have been anticipating a successor to the Switch. Nintendo has not officially confirmed a successor, but a report from Nikkei Asia says that a new console is in the works and could be ready next year.