Hopefully, more information will come out once the game launches (pic: Nintendo)

Video game lore doesn’t get much more confusing than The Legend Of Zelda, so where exactly in the series timeline does Tears Of The Kingdom fit?

The Legend of Zelda’s timeline is notorious for its complexity and the fact that the vast majority of people playing the games have no idea about how exactly they’re connected. 

That makes it very difficult to determine when each Zelda game takes place, given the different eras that branch out into various timelines, creating at least three parallel realities.

As Tears Of The Kingdom’s launch draws nearer by the day, it’s understandable to want to know more about its back story, but it’s not at all straightforward…

The Legend Of Zelda timeline 

More than the actual games, the official Zelda collector’s book Hyrule Historia provides the most detailed, and authentic, information on the series’ history and timelines. 

To understand The Legend Of Zelda timelines, it’s important to consider several key events, starting with the beginning of everything with Skyward Sword. 

After the events of Skyward Sword, the timeline takes a dramatic turn with Ocarina Of Time, splitting into three separate paths: the Decline timeline, the Child timeline, and the Adult timeline. 

The timeline of the Zelda series according to Hyrule Historia (pic: Zelda Dungeon)

Basically, after the pivotal moment in Ocarina Of Time, the Zelda timeline divides into three distinct eras, each involving a different set of games from the franchise.

Although the Zelda timeline is subject to interpretation, and continues to evolve with new game releases, the image above displays the official chronological sequence of events, pre-Breath Of The Wild.

Nintendo play pretty loose with what little continuity there is though and are always happy to add a retcon if needed. However, the most important thing to bear in mind is that these are not always the same Link and Zelda, but often reincarnations, descendants or alternative timeline versions.

Is Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom a direct sequel to Breath Of The Wild?

While understanding the Zelda timeline may earn you some extra fandom points, it’s not as essential as you might assume, especially with newer releases. 

The only important point to note is that Tears Of The Kingdom is a sequel to 2017’s Breath of the Wild and is a mainline entry in the series, not a spin-off.

Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom are missing from the Zelda timeline pictured above because they weren’t out at the time but they are known to be the very last entries in the series, chronologically speaking.

Could Tears Of The Kingdom outdo Breath Of The Wild? (pic: Nintendo)

As previously revealed by Nintendo, Breath Of The Wild takes place several hundred years after all the previous instalments. 

When asked about which of the three timelines includes Breath Of The Wild, Eiji Aonuma, the series producer, cleverly dodged the question and replied, ‘Well, of course, it’s at the very end.’ 

More: The Legend of Zelda

When does Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom take place?

Rather than fitting it into a specific branch, Nintendo seems to have positioned Breath Of The Wild at the end of the timeline, potentially for all three branches. Given that Tears Of The Kingdom will act as a sequel its safe to assume it simply comes straight after Breath Of The Wild.

The time gap between Breath Of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom is uncertain, leaving us in the dark about whether it’s been weeks, months, or even years. Although that may become clearly once the game is out…

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Video game lore doesn’t get much more confusing than The Legend Of Zelda, so where exactly in the series timeline does Tears Of The Kingdom fit?