Zelda Direct Expected Ahead of Tokyo Game Show

If you have been keeping an eye on Zelda news lately, you probably already know the Ocarina of Time remake has become one of the most talked-about projects in gaming right now. A fresh wave of information has surfaced that could finally give you a sense of when actual gameplay might show up, and it ties together a handful of separate rumors \that have been floating around for weeks.

Nintendo only gave fans a brief look at the Ocarina of Time remake during its June Nintendo Direct, and since then, there has been almost total silence from the company. That short glimpse left a lot of people wanting more, but a new report is suggesting that the wait might not last much longer.

A source known as Nash Weedle has claimed that Nintendo is preparing to bring the Ocarina of Time remake to the Tokyo Game Show.

This runs from September 17th through the 21st in 2026, and attendees may actually get hands-on time with the game before the show officially begins. The source reportedly noted that Tokyo Game Show has not typically been a major focus for Nintendo in past years, but this time could be different because of what the Ocarina of Time remake represents.

When pressed further on whether the game would simply be shown off or actually playable, the source stuck to the claim that people should be able to try it themselves, with some kind of reveal happening beforehand. That detail matters a lot if you think about the timeline.

If playable demos are being lined up for Tokyo Game Show, then logically some kind of public reveal or trailer needs to happen before that event kicks off. That leaves a couple of realistic windows for when this could go down.

The first possibility is that Nintendo saves it for its usual September Direct. The company has stuck to a September Direct nearly every year, and that consistency has become part of its overall marketing rhythm. Nintendo has clearly found a formula that keeps players engaged and coming back.

That approach has helped make the Switch line one of the best-selling console families ever made.

Thus, there is little reason for the company to abandon a strategy that already works. The second and arguably more likely option is a standalone Zelda fortieth anniversary presentation, styled similarly to a Nintendo Direct. Based on patterns from previous years, this kind of event could realistically happen sooner than a lot of fans expect.

This theory connects to an earlier piece of Zelda news involving pricing. Reports from 9to5Toys revealed that the retailer Play-Asia, a smaller but well-known storefront, had already opened pre-orders for the Ocarina of Time remake without any confirmed release date attached.

What stood out was the price tag, which came in lower than many people anticipated at 59.99 dollars. That number lines up with what Star Fox charged at retail, which was also 60 dollars physically and 50 dollars digitally, and since the Ocarina of Time remake has been described as a fairly faithful one-to-one recreation with some added changes, a similar price point makes sense.

So why bring up an older leak while talking about a brand new Tokyo Game Show rumor and a possible anniversary event? Because Nintendo has a well-established habit of releasing game-specific Directs for titles it has already revealed, spaced out between its larger seasonal Directs.

Nintendo didn't lump everything into the main Directs back then.

Splatoon and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 each got their own dedicated showcase following the February 2022 Direct, and Super Mario Bros had its own separate spotlight sometime between the June and September Directs in 2023, ahead of that September event.

There have been gaps where this did not happen, but as Nintendo has moved closer to 2026, these individual game-focused Directs have become more frequent. Starting in 2025, Nintendo began packing in one or two of these smaller Directs between its major ones.

Between the March 2025 Direct and the following one, Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza both received dedicated spotlights, and Kirby Air Riders also got its own showcase, all following the original Switch 2 reveal.

That trend continued between the September Direct and the more recent June Direct, where Tomodachi Life and a Star Fox-focused Direct both appeared, with Splatoon Raiders being the reveal that came out of the June presentation.

Given that pattern, the Ocarina of Time remake looks like the obvious next candidate for its own dedicated Direct.

This bars Nintendo from throwing in an unexpected twist, which is always possible given the company's history. Between the pricing leak and the new Tokyo Game Show claims, the signs seem to be pointing toward some kind of Zelda-focused Direct arriving relatively soon, possibly as early as next month.

It may be possible for Nintendo to include this event in their normal September Direct, but this is unlikely. A special event to celebrate The Legend of Zelda's fortieth birthday appears more likely, judging by past practices with franchises from Nintendo.

Speaking of anniversary treatment, there is also chatter about a special Nintendo Switch 2 hardware edition themed around Zelda. If you look at how Nintendo has handled past Zelda anniversaries, this would not be surprising at all.

The company released a themed Switch Lite around Tears of the Kingdom, special Joy-Cons tied to Skyward Sword, and a beautifully designed 3DS model to celebrate the franchise's twenty-fifth anniversary. A similar Switch 2 hardware edition, especially with themed Joy-Cons, would be a welcome addition, considering how few standout special editions the original Switch received during its lifespan.

With the price increase on Switch 2 hardware, fans would likely expect Nintendo to put real effort into the design if a themed console does happen.

Beyond hardware speculation, there are additional rumors tied to what else could appear during a potential Zelda anniversary Direct. Twilight Princess has become part of that conversation again. The same source behind the Tokyo Game Show claims that a 2D Zelda title is expected to arrive sometime in 2027.

That same source added that although nothing had surfaced about Twilight Princess for a while, something involving a new version of the game may be in the works. They also mentioned hearing persistent rumors about Twilight Princess specifically, while noting that Wind Waker still appears stuck without any real movement.

It is unlikely that the remake of Twilight Princess will be executed following the example of Ocarina of Time. On the contrary, it can turn out more like Metroid Prime Remastered – the title that got a major visual revamp but still stayed true to the original design.

Taking into account that the Twilight Princess is from the same generation of consoles as Metroid, it makes sense to apply this remastering technique, especially considering how to bring it up-to-date visually. When we talk about Wind Waker, one thing stands out – namely, why this game still has not gotten its remastered version, despite the fact that it looks quite easy to implement for Nintendo on Switch 2.

Maybe they are saving the Wind Waker remastering on purpose in order to link it up with a new adventure of Toon Link later.

It is worth noting how much Zelda-related activity is happening within this same short window, arriving right around when gameplay footage for the Ocarina of Time remake seems likely to surface. Between the Tokyo Game Show claims and the earlier pricing leak, the timing lines up in a way that is hard to ignore.

Everything mentioned here should still be treated as rumor and speculation rather than confirmed fact, but the overlapping details make for one of the more compelling Zelda stories in recent memory, and the coming weeks should make it clear just how much of it turns out to be true.