Nintendo announced today, to the surprise of literally no one on Earth, that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has become the fastest-selling Zelda game in the history of the franchise. Sales of Tears of the Kingdom, a direct sequel to the insanely popular and groundbreaking The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, have surpassed 10 million copies in only three days according to the company, which thanked everyone who is already enjoying the game — whether they’re constructing all-out mechs or, like me, just finally found the time to play enough to get off the Great Sky Island tutorial. In the US, the game sold more than 4 million copies in that time span, making it the fastest-selling Nintendo game ever for this region.
The Legend of #Zelda: #TearsOfTheKingdom has sold over 10 million copies worldwide in its first three days, becoming the fastest-selling game in the history of the Legend of Zelda series.
Thanks to those already enjoying Link’s latest adventure! pic.twitter.com/XxRSLaiWrO
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 17, 2023
Given the fact that this was the sequel to one of the most widely beloved games of any generation of consoles, it’s little surprise that Tears of the Kingdom sales are so huge. Obviously, the critical acclaim, endless amounts of creativity, and domination of the gaming world news cycle is great for Nintendo, but it also wants to make money. To contextualize just how well the game is selling, 10 million copies is more copies than any other Zelda game sold in its lifetime outside of Breath of the Wild, and it’s about a third of that game’s 29 million (and counting) copies sold. The next closest non-BotW game is Twilight Princess with 8.85 million lifetime sales.
It’s not just impressive sales for a Zelda game, however. It’s impressive sales for any game ever. Taking a look at the fastest-selling games of all time, 10 million in three days is pretty ridiculous. It places the game in a near tie with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which are the fastest-selling games on any Nintendo console and the sales numbers put it in league with the most successful releases of Call of Duty and well outstrip any Halo release. Another monstrously successful release this year, Hogwarts Legacy, surpassed 12 million sales after two weeks on the market.
Ultimately, 10 million sales of Tears of the Kingdom in three days is clearly nothing to be scoffed at, and everyone seems to be having an absolute blast with the even more “do whatever the hell you want” nature of the game. Or, you know, just running through it as quickly as possible.
