Amid all the showcases of the past several weeks, leave it to Nintendo to deliver one of the biggest impacts in gaming. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake finally received a proper reveal, and immediately galvanised its fair share of viewers. Fans’ reactions ranged from excited to shocked – some were outright indignant at the visual overhaul, calling it either AI slop or DLSS 5 (and no, I don’t know how that would work either).
Others praised the gorgeous detail in the environments – how familiar locations felt brand-new but still contained the feel of their classic versions. The quality-of-life improvements were also quite something. Tired of rolling in Hyrule Field to get from one place to another, pre-Epona? You could now dash by holding down the button after a roll. Swapping between items? No need to pause and go into your inventory – simply hold down a button and use the D-pad to swap, à la Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. And if using the Switch 2’s built-in microphone to hum songs which end up being played on the in-game ocarina isn’t the darndest thing, especially for fans who have known those tunes by heart for decades, I don’t know what is.
Again, not everyone was feeling the premier, even if it came down to the character designs. No sooner had I accepted Young Link’s chubby face and seen how great his Adult version looked than I began to question what happened to Young Zelda. As always, however, my man Ganondorf is styling and profiling, somehow looking just as menacing in 2026 as he had nearly three decades ago. As much as the gameplay presentation had me intrigued, the trailer afterwards felt like a proper wave of nostalgia, highlighting the remake’s sheer visual splendor and all those classic moments. Truly, a trip down memory lane like few others, even as the “Nintendo hired That Man” jokes poured in.
Of course, the release date was also announced: November 5th. And it caused another flurry of discussion, because as everyone and their immediate family is probably aware, Grand Theft Auto 6 launches in the same month.
It probably wouldn’t be that big a deal if it weren’t for the fact that nearly every major publisher and developer got out of Rockstar’s way to avoid launching anywhere near it. That’s since resulted in one of the busiest release periods of the past several years, with August, September and October packed with titles. Blockbusters like Fable and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis outright skipped 2026, taking even more time to polish their gameplay than they probably dreamed was necessary.
And this isn’t a new phenomenon. When S-Game delayed Phantom Blade Zero to October 29th, it caused a stir for launching so close to Grand Theft Auto 6 – to the point where director/producer Qiwei “Soulframe” Liang stated that the team was focused more on creating a great game than anything else.
But for many others, this kind of confrontation, even if it is weeks apart, felt downright destined. I mean, imagine all these other games spending years, ensuring they were up to snuff. Some, like Control Resonant, began work, even conceptually, as far back as 2019. Others, like Gears of War: E-Day or Silent Hill: Townfall, were either desperately trying to revive interest in their franchise or continue their streak. Hundreds of millions of dollars are on the line, and if that means launching alongside so many other titles, risking attention being siphoned away, so be it. It’s better than going up against GTA 6, after all (and that’s even before the Extended Look and previews truly showcased how gargantuan of an experience it would truly be).
Then you have Nintendo, who simply saunters in, drops gameplay for one of the most anticipated remakes of the past several years to one of the greatest games of all time, diving straight into gameplay before announcing its launch in November. No fear, no question of what releasing so close to Rockstar’s magnum opus could mean, nothing. It’s not like no one speculated that this could happen. In fact, some believed that the two would go head-to-head on the same day because few other titles carried that same level of prestige, built on such a legendary (no pun intended) foundation, as to command such attention.
Of course, the reality is probably a lot more straightforward because of how Nintendo thinks about its release schedule. The company has purportedly finished titles and then held them back for a while before finally releasing them. But it also doesn’t view other games through the same lens, purely because its platforms function as separate ecosystems.
After all, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive. It’s not just built for that specific audience of tens of millions who game exclusively on it, but for long-time fans of the Zelda series who would probably prioritise new entries over anything else. I mean, some people in this audience with access to more powerful platforms for some games choose to play them on Nintendo’s, even with lower frame rates and resolutions. Call it favoring on-the-go gaming, or simply being more comfortable within that ecosystem.
In some ways, it reminds me of what we saw in 2020 when Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Half-Life: Alyx launched, albeit on the same day. Two highly anticipated releases with two completely different audiences, so diametrically opposite in so many ways, and yet celebrated purely because of the fact. It was a camaraderie between sides, not unlike the Barbenheimer buzz that would hit Hollywood in 2023.
Granted, it’s not the same with Ocarina of Time remake and Grand Theft Auto 6, but again, there isn’t a concern that the latter will completely overshadow the former. Not because it’s releasing several weeks prior – which you could view as Nintendo simply wanting to put it out as close to the 40th Anniversary livestream celebration, much like the limited edition Switch 2 – but because the company isn’t viewing it in the same way.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is a juggernaut that’s estimated to sell tens of millions of copies within the first week of launch – perhaps more than there are Switch 2 consoles currently available worldwide. But that’s for an a different audience on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 that’s moving ahead with the franchise as much as dipping their toes into all the chaos and mayhem that’s defined previous entries. Comparatively, Ocarina of Time is banking purely on nostalgia, that too from an E for Everyone audience. Even with sharper visuals, the objective, per series producer Eiji Aonuma, was a faithful interpretation using modern technology (and the fact that it delivers snappier gameplay and more detail in classic locations certainly doesn’t help).
So as much as there’s going to be a frenzy whipped up about both titles competing against each other, either in terms of critical reviews or sales in their release month, or in December when it’s time to dole out awards, it’s really business as usual. That is, until two other major releases launch in the same month and the arbitrary comparisons over who could “beat” the other begin again, not unlike when Metal Gear Solid and the original Ocarina of Time launched a month apart in 1998. So it goes.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
