Legend of Zelda Official Switch 2 Debut Promises All-Out War

The next official Zelda game on the Nintendo Switch 2 just got a brand new trailer, and I have absolutely no idea what is happening in it.

There’s a new The Legend of Zelda game on the way, and it’s a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom… sort of. I think? Maybe?

As revealed during the April 2025 Nintendo Direct presentation, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is set to drop on Nintendo Switch 2 later this year on November 6.

This is the third entry in the Hyrule Warriors series, developed by Koei Tecmo's AAA Games Studio. It’s also a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is kind of weird because the previous Hyrule Warriors game, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, was a prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild… yet this game is set before the events of both games.

So, technically, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a prequel of a prequel, while simultaneously being a sequel? Huh?

Thankfully, Nintendo just released a new trailer to help explain things. Not-so-thankfully, I am now more confused about the timeline of events than I was before I watched it.

I’m not even sure where to start with the timeline of events here, and I’ve played both Hyrule Warriors games, as well as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

So, the game will cover what happened during the events of the Imprisoning War. This is a pretty famous event in the Zelda timeline, as it bridged the gap between The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past.

Except, wait, nope– the “Imprisoning War” that took place in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s timeline is a different Imprisoning War. Right, sure. Great. Easy and simple to understand so far.

The difference here (I think?) is that the Imprisoning War that will be featured in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is an alternate take on the event, which will feature Princess Zelda travelling backwards in time (by, from what I can tell, roughly 10,000 years) so that she can stop Ganondorf… which would surely mean that the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild never take place?

Ugh, whatever. At least the robo-version of Link in the trailer looks cool as hell. I’m just gonna switch my brain off and mash some combos, then read an explanation of the plot once I’m finished.