Featured image source: Chris Woodrich / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
For The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary back in 2021, Nintendo’s big gesture was a few minutes at the tail end of a general Direct and a limited-run Game & Watch console. Series producer Eiji Aonuma admitted at the time there was no dedicated campaign planned. Five years later, the 40th anniversary is getting treated very differently.
On September 4, Nintendo confirmed two back-to-back presentations for next week: a Direct built entirely around Zelda, and a separate, general Nintendo Direct the following morning. It is the first time the series has ever been handed a full broadcast of its own, and the timing lines up with the one announcement fans have been waiting months to see finished: the Ocarina of Time remake.
The short version
- What: The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct, followed a day later by a general Nintendo Direct
- When: Tuesday, September 8 (Zelda) and Wednesday, September 9 (general), both at 7:00 AM PT
- Length: About 30 minutes for the Zelda Direct, about 45 minutes for the Nintendo Direct
- Biggest expectation: a release date, and a proper extended look, at the Ocarina of Time remake for Switch 2
- Also happening: Nintendo Treehouse: Live airs right after the September 9 Direct with hands-on gameplay
When to watch each broadcast
Both presentations were announced through the Nintendo Today app and Nintendo’s official site, and both stream free with no Nintendo Switch Online subscription or sign-up required.
| Broadcast | Date | Start time | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct | Tuesday, September 8 | 7:00 AM PT / 10:00 AM ET / 3:00 PM BST / 4:00 PM CEST | ~30 minutes |
| Nintendo Direct | Wednesday, September 9 | 7:00 AM PT / 10:00 AM ET / 3:00 PM BST / 4:00 PM CEST | ~45 minutes |
| Nintendo Treehouse: Live | Wednesday, September 9 | Immediately after the Direct | Extended gameplay |
Japan gets both shows late at night, around 11:00 PM JST, which is the usual slot for a Direct aimed primarily at a US and European morning audience. Both will stream on Nintendo’s official YouTube channel, with the Treehouse follow-up giving Nintendo’s own staff room to actually play whatever gets announced rather than just show a trailer.
Why Zelda finally gets a Direct to itself
The headline reason is the Ocarina of Time remake, which Nintendo first announced during a Direct back in June and has said almost nothing about since. The original teaser used the tagline “Reborn Across Time” and described the project as the “return of the critically acclaimed Nintendo 64 classic for a new generation, reborn for the Nintendo Switch 2.” That is a promise, not a look at the actual game, and with a 2026 release window still officially on the table and only a few months left on the calendar, Nintendo is running low on time to market it properly.
What has leaked and been confirmed so far suggests this is a genuine rebuild rather than a resolution bump. Reports point to fully redesigned character models for Link, Navi, Princess Zelda, Impa, Saria and Darunia, along with new lighting and high-resolution textures across Hyrule Castle Town and the game’s dungeons. The art direction being described sits closer to Skyward Sword HD or Hyrule Warriors than to the painterly look of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which tracks with Nintendo treating this as a faithful reimagining of a specific game rather than a new entry in the open-world house style.
What a full Zelda Direct realistically needs to deliver
- A confirmed release date for Ocarina of Time, not just “2026”
- Extended gameplay footage, since only a brief teaser has been shown publicly so far
- Pricing and edition details, especially after a collector’s edition reportedly leaked ahead of the show
- Some acknowledgment of the wider 40th anniversary, whether that is merchandise, amiibo or a look back at the series
A 30-minute runtime dedicated to one franchise is also, on its own, a statement. Nintendo Directs built around a single game are rare and usually reserved for the biggest releases on the calendar, which is a strong signal that Ocarina of Time is being positioned as one of the Switch 2’s marquee holiday-adjacent titles rather than a nostalgia side project.
What the general Nintendo Direct on September 9 is for
The second show is described as a more conventional Direct, expected to focus on Switch 2 software heading into the winter. Nintendo has not published a lineup, but a handful of titles are far enough along that they are reasonable bets for screen time.
| Game | Studio | Status | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch Sports Resort | Nintendo | Confirmed, October 22 | Six weeks from launch, right in the window for a marketing push |
| The Duskbloods | FromSoftware | Announced, no date | Switch 2 exclusive that still needs a release window |
| Nintendo Classics additions | Nintendo | Ongoing service | Regularly gets small updates alongside bigger Directs |
| Unannounced third-party ports | Various | Speculative | Switch 2 Directs have consistently included at least one surprise port |
Treat all of that as informed guesswork rather than a leaked lineup. Nintendo’s pattern for these Switch 2 focused Directs has been to mix one or two confirmed release dates with several genuine surprises, which is part of why the format still draws an audience even in a year as packed with gaming news as this one.
Zelda’s Direct lands in a crowded week for showcases
Nintendo is not operating in a vacuum here. Sony ran its own State of Play just days earlier, and the wider industry has spent the back half of 2026 trying to get major announcements out before GTA 6 absorbs every headline in November. Splitting Zelda into its own show is partly a creative choice and partly a scheduling one: a 30-minute dedicated broadcast is easier to make memorable than a five-minute segment competing against a dozen other games for attention.
It also arrives at a moment when the Switch 2 itself keeps evolving. Regulatory pressure in Europe has already pushed Nintendo toward hardware changes like a more easily replaceable battery, and those design shifts are quietly reshaping the console even as its software lineup grows. Between first-party heavyweights and a steady stream of third-party support, the console’s library has expanded quickly since launch, and a confirmed Ocarina of Time release date would immediately become one of its biggest entries yet.
Bottom line
Set two alarms next week. The Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct on September 8 is the one to watch if you care about Ocarina of Time specifically, since it is Nintendo’s best remaining chance this year to give the remake a real release date and an extended look. The Nintendo Direct on September 9, followed by Treehouse: Live, is the broader check-in on where the Switch 2’s lineup stands heading into the holidays. Both are free, both are short enough to watch live, and after a fairly quiet summer for first-party Nintendo news, this is shaping up to be the most substantial week the company has had in months.
