New Open-World Zelda Game Rumors Basically Confirmed By Ocarina of Time Remake

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” is not altogether a bad attitude for video game leaks, especially when taken with a grain of salt, but the latest to come out of The Legend of Zelda franchise might have something to them. Indeed, there have been several Legend of Zelda rumors and leaks to crop up over the past six months, with three of them standing out: the Ocarina of Time remake, a 2D Zelda spin-off, and details on the next mainline entry after Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

A month ago, it was impossible for any layperson to validate the leaks, no matter how reliable the leaker’s sources were, yet that all changed recently. Nintendo has confirmed that the Ocarina of Time remake is real and will be released in 2026. That outright confirms that said specific leak was legit, suggesting there is a fire somewhere and that each of the aforementioned leaks was smoke. Where there is one leak, there might be more—and the confirmation of Ocarina of Time remake suggests the new open-world Zelda game rumor is legit, as well as the 2D Zelda spin-off.

New Official Switch 2 Console Bundle Confirmed for July 2

Nintendo is releasing a new Switch 2 bundle on July 2 for certain regions, meaning now is the perfect time to fans to upgrade to the new console.

The Legend of Zelda Ship Appears to Be Leaking

Nintendo did not say much about the Ocarina of Time remake, releasing a trailer that showed a tapestry of Hyrule and showed what child Link looks like with the updated graphics. The aforementioned leak by Nate the Hate suggested that it would release in Holiday 2026, and while Nintendo did not confirm that much, there’s not really a better window for it right now than Holiday 2026. Nate the Hate’s leaks were also corroborated by Nash Weedle, who claimed it was a full remake, not just a remaster/port, and it seems that way. Nash Weedle would go on to claim that a 2D Zelda game featuring Ganondorf as the protagonist, similar to Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom featuring the titular princess, was also slated for 2027. That rumor is now stronger because of the Ocarina of Time remake confirmation. If there’s one leak, there might be two.

The same can be said for the rumors around the next open-world Zelda game because, if there are two leaks, there might be three. It helps that this leak, as well as the original Ocarina of Time remake leak, comes from known and reliable sources. Around the turn of the year, Shpeshal Nick provided a few details about the next mainline Zelda game, and his track record, combined with confirmation of the Ocarina of Time remake, adds even more weight to his leaks.

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Nick claims that the next major mainline Zelda game will be another open-world game similar to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, set in the same version of Hyrule and built with the same engine. Of course, as development goes, that engine will have some new enhancements. Gameplay-wise, the next open-world Zelda game is said to explore more “dimensions.” In short, it sounds like cross-dimensional gameplay for puzzles and perhaps exploration, with one example being that players could lure a charging bull toward a target in one dimension to open a door in the player’s dimension. It remains to be seen how ambitious Nintendo aims to be with it, but it does sound mightily similar to the dimension-hopping gameplay of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. It was also said to be years away, so fans shouldn’t expect much news from it anytime soon.

Why Fans Should Still Take These Zelda Leaks With a Grain of Salt

Of course, fans should still approach all of these claims with caution. It could be that there’s a leaky ship, and one of these leaks supports the others. It could be that one leak was legit, while others were not. And on top of that, even if these are all true right now, there’s no guarantee that these Zelda games will launch like this. Development plans change, features get cut, and the end result is not always the same as the initial goal. That said, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the pattern forming around these Zelda rumors.

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What’s most interesting about the alleged next mainline game is how it would continue Nintendo’s recent approach to the franchise. Breath of the Wild reinvented Zelda by emphasizing freedom and experimentation, as purported by most accounts, while Tears of the Kingdom expanded that philosophy through Ultrahand. A dimension-based mechanic could represent the next logical step in that evolution (especially if Nintendo wants to avoid simply making a bigger map for the sake of making a bigger map).

Perhaps the biggest reason these rumors have gained traction to begin with, however, is timing. With Tears of the Kingdom now old by video game standards and the Switch 2 era underway, fans have naturally begun wondering what comes next for the franchise. Nintendo confirming the Ocarina of Time remake has unexpectedly strengthened several other Zelda rumors in the process. Whether all of them prove accurate remains to be seen, but the future is looking good.