'The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom' release date, ESRB rating, the possibility of playable Ganondorf

"The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom," which was formerly referred to as "Breath of the Wild 2," is finally arriving in May 2023. For fans who are already excited to get their hands on the game, here's what we know about Nintendo's upcoming action-adventure game including its recent rating.

'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' won't be darker than other Zelda games

The game's title "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" might appear to suggest that its plot might be particularly grim. However, its official rating for North America by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) suggests that it would be no darker than the typical Zelda game.

The upcoming game has been rated E10+, with warnings of Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes, NintendoLife.com reported. For comparison, this is exactly the same rating "Breath of the Wild" received in 2017, which means players shouldn't expect the upcoming game to be much more intense than its predecessor was.

'Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' release date

Nintendo revealed the release date for "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" sequel at E3 2021 to be sometime in 2022. However, the company later changed it was changed to the spring of 2023.

The development team revealed the game's official release date is on May 12, 2023, during the Nintendo Direct in September 2022, GameSpot reported. Nintendo also introduced the official title of the game—Tears of the Kingdom—during that event.

'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' platform

The sequel to "Breath of the Wild" will only be available on Switch, unlike its predecessor, which was launched simultaneously on Switch and Wii U. Since "Breath of the Wild" was infamous for having frame rate problems in some areas, many fans undoubtedly hoped the rumored Switch Pro would be available by the time the game was released. However, there has been no word on the status of the supposedly improved Switch model up to this point. It seems doubtful that Nintendo will announce a new high-performance platform unexpectedly given how close the release is, but anything is possible.

Will the game feature a playable Ganondorf?

A fan theory that is deeply rooted in speculative territory makes the case that Ganondorf could be a playable character. According to Barrett Courtney of Kinda Funny, Ganondorf might possibly be the more rugged-appearing Link in the new E3 teaser.

According to Courtney's theory, the game will have a part that lets players experience the fall of Ganondorf, which starts the cycle of heroes battling with corrupted Ganons that appears in every game. He believes that Ganondorf is the hero from 10,000 years ago that has been alluded to and that Link is not the character with the corrupted arm in the trailer, but rather Ganondorf.

"This game will be learning about the fall of Ganondorf the man and then saving him from the evil that has been ruling over him for generations. And in doing so, we'll break the cycle started by Demise," Courtney wrote. Demise is the Ganon encountered in Skyward Sword, making the recent remaster of the game very timely and further adding weight to this theory.