Nintendo’s 40th-anniversary treatment of The Legend of Zelda will not stop with its current releases and hardware tie-ins. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has said the company will continue a “variety of initiatives” across this year and next year, extending the celebration into 2027.
The important qualifier is that Nintendo’s plans are broader than software. Furukawa specifically framed the anniversary activity around games alongside a film, music, character merchandise and other ways for people to experience Zelda’s world. That wording gives fans a clearer sense that more anniversary material is planned, while offering no direct confirmation of another game, a remake, a remaster, or a reveal for the next mainline entry.
For now, the concrete Zelda-related activity cited around the anniversary includes the release of a The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake and a 40th-anniversary Switch 2 collection. The latter includes a Switch 2 console and Pro Controller. Those products show Nintendo is treating the milestone as a multi-part campaign rather than a single launch, but they should not be read as evidence for any particular unannounced game.
What Nintendo has actually said
Furukawa’s comments establish two useful points. First, Nintendo expects the anniversary campaign to continue through 2027. Second, the company’s plan explicitly reaches beyond video games.
“Over the course of this year and next, we will pursue a variety of initiatives to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.”
He also said Nintendo will broaden opportunities to experience the series through “the movie, music, character merchandise, and more,” in addition to games.
That is a meaningful distinction. A franchise celebration can contain game releases, but it can also be built around events, licensed products, screen projects and other forms of promotion. Nintendo has named several areas of activity, yet it has not identified the full list of initiatives or attached new game titles to the statement.
In practical terms, the announcement is a confirmation of continued Zelda visibility, not a release schedule. Fans waiting for firm news should look for direct product names, platforms, dates and official descriptions before treating an anniversary initiative as a confirmed game announcement.
Related coverage includes Nintendo Says Zelda's 40th Anniversary Plans Will Continue Into 2027.
Why 2027 already has a Zelda shape
Two pieces of the wider plan already give 2027 a clear Zelda presence: a Legend of Zelda film is due in April 2027, and a major Zelda concert tour is set to take place next year.
The film matters because it is specifically included in Nintendo’s description of how it intends to expand the ways consumers can engage with the franchise. That makes the anniversary campaign larger than a retrospective release program. Rather than relying exclusively on a game launch to mark the occasion, Nintendo can maintain attention around Zelda through cinema, live music and merchandise.
The concert tour similarly fits the music portion of the plan. A concert is not evidence of a soundtrack release, a game reveal or a playable product, but it is a direct expression of the company’s stated aim to let audiences experience the world of Zelda in different formats.
This approach also explains why “more Zelda” is not automatically synonymous with “more Zelda games.” Nintendo’s wording deliberately places games within a larger group of initiatives. The safest reading is that additional anniversary activity is coming, with the details still to be announced.
Ocarina of Time and the Switch 2 collection are the current game-side anchors
The newly released Ocarina of Time remake is a prominent gaming component of the anniversary. So is the 40th-anniversary Switch 2 collection, which includes dedicated console and Pro Controller items.
These releases matter for two reasons. They demonstrate that Nintendo is using a classic Zelda title as part of the celebration, and they show that hardware and accessories are part of the effort as well. A themed console or controller serves a different role from a game: it marks the occasion for existing fans and gives the anniversary a physical presence in the Switch 2 ecosystem.
They do not, however, establish a pattern that guarantees another legacy release. Fans have long discussed potential Switch versions of The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD, but Furukawa’s remarks do not mention either title. Neither should be considered confirmed on the basis of a general promise of future initiatives.
That may sound cautious, but it is the difference between a confirmed plan and an inference. The confirmed plan is an ongoing anniversary campaign that includes games and non-game experiences. An inference is that a particular remaster, port or sequel must be one of those initiatives. Until Nintendo names it, that inference remains speculation.
What this does—and does not—mean for the next mainline Zelda
There is understandable interest in whether a 40th anniversary could bring a look at the next core Zelda game. It could be tempting to interpret a year-spanning program as a natural venue for a teaser. But the statement itself does not commit Nintendo to one.
A mainline Zelda game, in this context, means a new central series entry rather than a remake, remaster, collection, accessory or cross-media project. Nintendo did not say such a game would appear in 2027. It did not identify a development team, platform, launch window, trailer, title or even a future reveal.
That absence is not a negative announcement; it simply means there is no game-specific promise to evaluate yet. The anniversary could still include software news, and Furukawa explicitly included games in the company’s plans. But the available details leave open many possibilities, from continued attention on the existing Ocarina of Time remake to other unspecified game-related initiatives.
Anniversary timing alone is not enough to turn a possibility into a forecast. Nintendo’s recent Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary illustrates the point: it produced Yoshi and the Mysterious Book and Mario Tennis Fever, rather than a confirmed headline reveal of a new core Mario platformer. Milestones can certainly coincide with major game announcements, but they can also be supported by a varied lineup whose scale differs from what fans expect.
A useful way to read anniversary messaging
The most helpful approach is to separate Nintendo’s language into three levels.
- Confirmed: Zelda’s 40th-anniversary activity is continuing into 2027; Nintendo has identified games, a film, music, character merchandise and more as parts of its broader approach.
- Already identified: An Ocarina of Time remake has released, a 40th-anniversary Switch 2 collection has appeared, a Zelda film is planned for April 2027, and a concert tour is due next year.
- Unconfirmed: A new mainline Zelda, ports of The Wind Waker HD or Twilight Princess HD, or the contents and timing of any other initiative.
This framework avoids two common errors. The first is dismissing the statement as empty because it does not include a game title. It does provide a real commitment: Nintendo intends to keep the anniversary going into the following year and has identified the areas it will cover. The second error is filling the unnamed slots with the community’s most-requested projects. Nintendo has not done that.
What fans can reasonably watch for next
With the film and concert tour already pointing toward 2027, the next concrete update may come in any of the categories Furukawa named. A music-related announcement, a merchandise program, details connected to the film or another game-focused initiative would all fit the stated plan.
For players, the strongest signal of a genuinely new software announcement would be a specific title accompanied by platform details or a release window. For remaster-watchers, the same principle applies: a general celebration statement does not substitute for a product listing or official reveal.
The near-term takeaway is therefore straightforward. Zelda’s 40th anniversary is continuing, and Nintendo is treating it as an umbrella for multiple forms of entertainment and merchandise—not merely a game-release label. More details are expected during 2027, but the current statement does not settle what those details will be.
That broader strategy is worth keeping in mind as Nintendo’s anniversary plans develop. Zelda’s next confirmed beat may be connected to a console release, a live performance, the April film, character merchandise or something else entirely. Until Nintendo narrows the field, expectations for a brand-new mainline adventure or long-discussed HD ports should remain measured. For another example of the difference between official details and unresolved questions before a major release, see what official GTA VI support pages confirm—and what they do not.
