The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom[b] is a 2023 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. A sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), Tears of the Kingdom retains many aspects of its predecessor, including the open world environment of Hyrule, which has been expanded to allow for more vertical exploration. Link, the protagonist of Tears of the Kingdom, is joined by Zelda and is opposed by a malevolent force that seeks to destroy Hyrule.
Tears of the Kingdom was conceived after ideas for Breath of the Wild downloadable content (DLC) had exceeded its scope. Its development was led by Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) division, with Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and producer Eiji Aonuma reprising their roles. A teaser for the game was shown at E3 2019 with a full reveal at E3 2021. Tears of the Kingdom was initially planned for release in 2022 before being delayed to May 2023. Upon release, the game received universal acclaim from critics, with praise directed to the game's expansion of its open world setting and the use of new features to encourage player exploration and experimentation.
