Nintendo has officially confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom take place outside of the series' established timeline in a presentation at the Nintendo Live 2024 event in Sydney, Australia.
Zelda Timeline Gets Even Crazier
TotK and BotW Events Said to be Unrelated to Previous Titles
As confirmed by Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) and Breath of the Wild (BotW) take place outside of the series' established timeline. This was revealed during Nintendo Live 2024 in Sydney, where the company shared slides on the timeline of "The Legend of Zelda History."
Since its inception in 1987, The Legend of Zelda series has featured the hero Link battling evil across multiple timelines. These timelines, however, in the recent reveal reported by news site Vooks, showed that events in both BotW and TotK are likewise not connected to the events of the previous games.
Starting with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword leading to Ocarina of Time, the timeline was shown to branch off and split after the events of the latter title. The broader Zelda franchise timeline splits into two paths: the "Hero is Defeated" timeline, leading to titles like A Link to the Past; and the "Hero is Triumphant" timeline that branches into the "Child" timeline, which includes the titles Majora’s Mask, Twilight Princess, and Four Swords Adventure; and the "Adult" timeline, featuring The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass.
However, off to the side of this timeline chart, BotW and TotK stand alone together, disconnected from the series of events that define the rest of the series.
The Zelda franchise’s timeline has always been a topic of debate among fans, with its multiple branches and complex history. Interestingly, in the book The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Creating a Champion, it's suggested that the cyclical progression of Hyrule’s history could blur the lines between historical fact and legend, making it even more difficult to pinpoint where these stories fit in. As stated in the book: "Hyrule’s recurring periods of prosperity and decline have made it impossible to tell which legends are historical fact and which are mere fairy tale."
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New Zelda timeline places Breath of the Wild & Tears of the Kingdom separate from older games
Polygon: The Legend of Zelda timeline, explained
