The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is Developed by Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 3

A new “Ask the Developers” article from Nintendo has revealed that Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 3 is developing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The team has worked on all of the major 3D Zelda games, which likely means that the next mainline entry in the series will not release for quite a while. 

Despite many theories that Ocarina of Time was made by a smaller team, it is instead being made by the team that has worked on Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild, and other 3D entries in the series. The new developer interviews outline further details about their process and reason behind updating the game. Aya Shida, the game’s art director, also reveals the inspiration for the visual style:

“To help the team understand what we were aiming for, early in development we used phrases like ‘a puppet-show feel’ and ‘the analog feel of practical effects films’ as keywords. Neither puppet shows nor practical effects films reproduce reality exactly as it is. Even so, both create a convincing sense that the characters truly exist within their respective fantasy worlds. We also felt that there was some overlap between these forms of expression and the distinctive nostalgia evoked by the original game.”

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time launches on November 5 for Nintendo Switch 2 digitally for $59.99 and physically for $69.99. Pre-orders for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are live open in the Nintendo eShop (27 GB file size for digital). Further, there will be new Young Link and Young Zelda amiibo that will introduce two new masks for Link. 

Best Buy has announced that it will hold a midnight opening for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on November 5. It will be available in locations across the country. Nintendo will also hold a midnight launch event for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time at the Nintendo New York and Nintendo San Francisco store locations on November 5 at 12:00 a.m. ET to 2:00 a.m. ET and November 4 from 9:00 p.m. PT – 11:00 p.m. PT, respectively.