Zelda 40th Anniversary to Lead the September Nintendo Direct

Nintendo’s expected September Direct is drawing plenty of attention as the company approaches a major milestone for The Legend of Zelda. With September 10 being discussed as the possible date, the focus is increasingly turning toward what Nintendo could have planned for The Legend of Zelda and whether the anniversary celebration will stand on its own or become part of a wider Nintendo Direct.

Earlier reports and speculation pointed toward a dedicated Zelda presentation arriving in August, but that window passed without the expected announcement. This has left September’s presentation looking like a possible place for Nintendo to finally explain its plans.

One possibility is that Nintendo follows the same general approach it used for Mario’s 40th anniversary.

Rather than separating every announcement into its own event, the company could build the celebration into a larger presentation. That would allow the anniversary to cover games, hardware, and other projects while still making Zelda the main theme.

You could see the presentation begin with a fast-moving celebration of the series’ history. Link’s earliest adventure could appear alongside moments from later games, eventually reaching Tears of the Kingdom before the anniversary branding takes over. It would establish that this is a presentation built around four decades of Nintendo’s biggest franchise.

The Legend of Zelda celebration could then move beyond games. A major possibility is an update on the upcoming Zelda movie, which has received relatively little public information so far. Nintendo has already shown that its movie projects can become part of anniversary-style presentations, so a new trailer, release information, or another production update would fit naturally into the event.

A brief appearance from series producer Eiji Aonuma could introduce the project before the presentation moves into its game announcements. That game lineup could be broader than one major remake. Nintendo has often used anniversary presentations to spread attention across several projects, mixing major releases with smaller additions, ports and upgraded versions.

The Mario celebration offered a useful example, combining multiple games and a Switch 2 edition rather than relying on a single announcement.

A similar strategy could work here for The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo's next big reveal will likely put Ocarina of Time front and center. The real story isn't that it's coming back — it's how much Nintendo dares to change. A faithful remake alone would sell the internet out in minutes, but rumors of new areas, quests, or story beats are what's turning heads and fueling speculation.

You could potentially see familiar locations rebuilt with modern visuals while Nintendo also adds material that was not present in the original. Speculation around ideas such as a Temple of Light, another new dungeon, or an expanded role for the Light Medallion has made the possibility of additional content especially interesting. Even the story could receive adjustments.

A remake does not always have to reproduce every event exactly as players remember it, and Nintendo could use the opportunity to reshape certain parts of Link’s journey, Ganondorf’s role, or the timeline. That is why The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time could become more than a visual upgrade.

If Nintendo treats the project as a full remake rather than a simple port, you could be looking at a version designed to surprise people who already know the original extremely well. The wider Switch audience for The Legend of Zelda also matters.

The original Nintendo Switch remains in homes around the world, and not every player has moved to Switch 2.

That gives Nintendo a reason to keep supporting the older hardware, especially with anniversary releases for The Legend of Zelda that can reach a much larger audience. This is where older The Legend of Zelda games could become important.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess remain obvious candidates because their most recent HD versions are tied to the Wii U, making them less accessible on Nintendo’s current systems. Bringing either game to Switch would solve that problem while giving the anniversary a pair of recognizable classics.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has an especially convenient anniversary connection. Its original release is reaching its 20th anniversary, while its HD version reaches a 10-year milestone. That makes a modern re-release easy to imagine as part of the wider celebration.

The challenge would be adapting features that relied on the Wii U GamePad. The second screen was genuinely useful in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, so moving that experience to Switch would require Nintendo to rethink how those functions work without the extra display.

Another The Legend of Zelda title being discussed is A Link Between Worlds.

The speculation here comes partly from the design associated with a possible Zelda 40th-anniversary Switch 2. The Triforce imagery reportedly combines gold with black, which resembles the visual identity connected with A Link Between Worlds and its use of Lorule. The connection is far from proof, but it has given the theory more attention.

A Link Between Worlds would also make sense as a candidate for a modern release because it originally appeared on Nintendo 3DS and has not received the same level of exposure on current consoles as several other classic entries. If Nintendo really is preparing special anniversary hardware, pairing it with a Zelda title could make the system more appealing.

The hardware itself could therefore become part of The Legend of Zelda’s celebration. A dedicated Zelda-themed Switch 2 would fit the anniversary without necessarily being tied to one specific game. That distinction matters because there is no confirmation that the rumored hardware would specifically celebrate the remake.

It could instead represent the franchise as a whole, leaving Nintendo free to announce several different games alongside it. There is also room for something nobody has been expecting. Anniversary celebrations are often used to revisit familiar material, but Nintendo can also use them to experiment.

A smaller spin-off, a new game built around a different gameplay style, or even a roguelike interpretation of Zelda could give the presentation a genuine surprise.

It would allow the company to celebrate the series without simply revisiting the same handful of classics. That possibility becomes more interesting when you look at how Nintendo has handled anniversary lineups before. A celebration does not need every announcement to be a blockbuster.

One large remake could anchor the event, while several smaller releases fill out the schedule and give different parts of the audience something to look forward to. The same philosophy could shape the September Direct for The Legend of Zelda.

The anniversary material could begin with the series’ history, move into a movie update, reveal a major game, introduce older titles on current hardware, and finish with special hardware or an unexpected project. It would essentially turn the presentation into a broad celebration without requiring Nintendo to label the entire event as a separate 40th-anniversary Direct.

For now, the exact format remains uncertain. The August window that generated so much discussion has already passed, while September 10 has become the date attracting attention. The strongest expectations center on the remake, but the anniversary gives Nintendo plenty of room to go beyond it.

If the company follows the Mario model, the smartest approach would be to make the celebration feel larger than one remake.

A mix of new and old games, movie information, hardware, and perhaps one completely unexpected project would give the anniversary its own identity. The Legend of Zelda has enough history to support that kind of presentation, and Nintendo has several obvious pieces available.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time could provide the headline, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess could bring older releases to modern consoles, and A Link Between Worlds could return in a new form. A new game or unusual spin-off could then provide the surprise that keeps the event from feeling predictable.

With the September Direct potentially only days away, the anniversary plans should become much clearer if Nintendo chooses to use the presentation for the occasion. Until then, the most interesting part is how many different directions the celebration could take without relying on a single announcement.