Ever since rumors began circulating that the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2 would be launching in November 2026, players have seen it as a sign that Nintendo is not at all worried about Grand Theft Auto 6, which is also targeting a November 2026 release. The reason this has become such a big deal is simply due to how much of a dam GTA 6 has created in the gaming industry, forcing certain games to be delayed and others to launch even earlier than originally planned. In fact, as a result of GTA 6‘s presence in November, September 2026 and February 2027 are both stacked with major releases, giving those games several months of space between them and what will likely be one of the biggest launches in video game history.
When it comes to Ocarina of Time, however, a title that is almost universally adored and widely considered one of the greatest games ever made, the common sentiment has been that GTA 6 can hardly touch it. In a month that most major games have done their best to stay away from in order to give themselves their own moment, Ocarina of Time seems not at all phased by the looming giant, even firmly establishing its release date as November 5, 2026. Well, now, players are proving that Nintendo truly does have nothing to worry about with launching Ocarina of Time so close to GTA 6, as the majority seem more interested in playing the upcoming Zelda remake than they do a Rockstar game they’ve been waiting on for more than a decade.
Players Seem Willing to Let GTA 6 Wait for Ocarina of Time
Of course, one could make the argument that Ocarina of Time is a Switch 2 exclusive, and since Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t even be on the Switch 2 and will instead be launching on the Xbox Series X|S and PS5, the two games aren’t really competing with one another. However, what about those who own both a Switch 2 and either an Xbox Series X|S or PS5? What about Grand Theft Auto fans who now plan on purchasing a Switch 2 just to play the Ocarina of Time remake? There is indeed an audience out there who fits this bill, and with Ocarina of Time now officially launching incredibly close to GTA 6, they’ll be forced to choose between the two games—at least, initially.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
To be fair, Grand Theft Auto 6 launches on November 19, 2026, which puts two solid weeks between it and Ocarina of Time. As such, there are some who will undoubtedly be finished with Ocarina of Time before GTA 6 arrives, especially if it is truly a 1:1 remake in its structure. Players like me, who grew up with the original Ocarina of Time on N64 should have no problem breezing right through its content if it ends up being as faithful as it looks, which means we will have plenty of time to pick the bone clean before GTA 6‘s release. But even so, that’s a big “if,” and it still doesn’t account for all playstyles.
Ocarina of Time Players Aren’t Letting GTA 6 Push It Aside
All of that said, players are already proving on social media sites like Reddit that GTA 6‘s launch will not stop them from playing Ocarina of Time, despite that being the fear so many other games have given into this year. For example, one recent thread by user Ceazar4L on the r/90s subreddit made that especially clear, as the original poster asked users whether they would be playing the Ocarina of Time remake, GTA 6, or both. Of the 17 commenters in the sample I looked at who clearly engaged with that choice, 14 of them, or roughly 82%, said they planned to play Ocarina of Time either instead of GTA 6 or alongside it. Ten of those commenters outright favored Ocarina of Time, while four said they intended to play both games. Just one person explicitly prioritized GTA 6, while the remaining two planned to play neither.
Now, obviously, that’s a very small sample, and a subreddit built around nostalgia for the 1990s is naturally going to be particularly receptive to the remake of a game originally released in 1998. I’m certainly not suggesting that 82% of everyone deciding between these two games will ultimately choose Ocarina of Time. However, the fact that only one person in that sample actually allowed GTA 6 to push Nintendo’s remake aside is still pretty telling. User Antibody-Scientist even said GTA 6 would have to “take a back seat” because the opportunity to relive one of their favorite childhood adventures won out, while another simply said “OoT > GTA.”
In a month that most major games have done their best to stay away from in order to give themselves their own moment, Ocarina of Time seems not at all phased by the looming giant, even firmly establishing its release date as November 5, 2026.
Things get even more interesting when looking at a separate discussion on the r/zelda subreddit started by user CuttlefishMonarch, where the November 5 release date naturally led to plenty of comparisons with GTA 6. Of the 28 commenters I found who clearly revealed how they planned to approach the two games, 27 of them, or roughly 96%, still had Ocarina of Time in their plans. Thirteen explicitly favored Nintendo’s remake over GTA 6, while another 14 said they planned to play both. Once again, only one commenter clearly prioritized GTA 6 over Ocarina of Time.
The “both” group might actually be the most important part of that sample, though, because it speaks directly to Nintendo’s decision to launch Ocarina of Time two weeks before GTA 6. One player said they were actually excited about the timing because two weeks would be plenty of time for a first run through Ocarina of Time before moving on to GTA 6. For anyone already familiar with Nintendo’s classic, that doesn’t sound all that unreasonable. Even if GTA 6 becomes the all-consuming gaming event everyone expects it to be once November 19 arrives, Nintendo doesn’t necessarily have to beat Rockstar after that point. It may simply have to make those first two weeks count.
It’s worth emphasizing once again that, for some players, this isn’t just a choice between two games. Ocarina of Time is influencing whether they buy a Switch 2 at all.
There are even players treating the remake as enough of an event to alter their hardware plans. Across the Zelda discussion, I found more than 20 people explicitly saying Ocarina of Time had convinced them, was convincing them, or might convince them to buy or upgrade to a Switch 2. User freebird_88_usa even went considerably further than that, saying they had given up on buying GTA 6 for the time being before Nintendo’s Direct convinced them to buy the Ocarina of Time Switch 2, the game, the Ocarina accessory, and the themed Pro Controller instead.
Neither Reddit sample is large enough to tell us how the wider market will actually behave this November, of course, and both come with their own obvious biases. Still, that’s not really the point. What matters is that among players who are actively discussing having to fit Ocarina of Time and GTA 6 into the same month, Nintendo’s remake doesn’t seem to be the game getting pushed aside. In these two samples, GTA 6 is either being asked to wait its turn or simply share the month with Hyrule, which makes Nintendo’s decision to plant Ocarina of Time right in the middle of gaming’s most intimidating release window look a whole lot less reckless than it initially sounded.
- Released
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November 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
