Nintendo has confirmed that a brand new Nintendo Switch OLED system themed around The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released next month ahead of the games launch.
During todays The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay presentation we were treated to just over 10 minutes of brand new gameplay footage played by series producer, Eiji Aonuma. Right at the end of the video we finally got the confirmation that the long-rumoured The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-themed Nintendo Switch OLED console is on its way and will be releasing on April 28, 2023 – two weeks ahead of the game's launch on May 12, 2023.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch OLED console will cost £319.99 / $359.99. No official price has been revealed for Australia yet. But based off past Nintendo Switch OLED bundles such as the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and Splatoon 3 bundles we would expect the price to be AU$549.95 as those systems were also $359.99 in the US.
The Nintendo Switch console in question is the same one from the leaks earlier this year (that even we thought were fake at first). A brand new The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-themed Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and carrying case have also been announced to also be releasing on May 12, 2023.
Moments after the video went up people flooded to the UK Nintendo Storefront for a chance to pick up the new Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch OLED but at the time of writing there's a queue of over 25,000 people waiting to get their hands on it. This queue has taken the site down with it as you can't even access other pages on the website at the moment.
Nintendo Switch 2 release set for next year as Zelda ushers in the end of SwitchI wouldn't worry about the queue for now, as the US Nintendo Storefront – which isn't subject to a queue system at the moment – doesn't have the console available to pre-order right now. I've also gotten through the queue for the UK Nintendo Storefront too and it's not on there either currently. We do have a handy buying guide for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pre-orders including the games collectors edition.
Even if you do miss out of a pre-order from Nintendo we would expect that the usual suspects like Game, Amazon, and Smyths will get their own batch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch OLED consoles in stock. Although, if the UK Nintendo Storefront is any indication, you might have a hard time getting hold of one.