The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had sold 10 million copies just three days after its launch on 12 May 2023, Nintendo has announced. According to the company, it is the fastest-selling Legend of Zelda game in history.
The previous game in the series, Breath of the Wild also broke sales records, but at a more modest level. In the US, it sold 1 million copies in the month of its 2017 launch, and had sold 30 million copies worldwide by 2023.
Games that have previously reached the same kind of achievement as Tears of the Kingdom, in the same time, are few and far between, with one of the only others being Grand Theft Auto V from Rockstar Games (16.5 million in 3 days).
We have been blown away by the support of fans for this record-breaking launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,’ said Takuro Horie, Managing Director of
Tears of the Kingdom was released to near-unanimous praise upon release, with critics and audiences alike smitten with the game’s ambitious scope, systems-driven world, and its freeform tools and abilities, allowing for unprecedented creative possibilities – which players have since used to create and share a great number of complex machines and amusing monstrosities on social media.
The GamesHub review of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was wildly positive about the adventure:
‘Breath of the Wild reinvented The Legend of Zelda. Tears of the Kingdom reimagines it once more, as a somehow more ambitious, freeform and creative game, with even greater highs – literally and figuratively. It’s a staggeringly eye-opening game that expertly cultivates the joy of exploration, discovery and believing in your own abilities.’
