The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Launch sales
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released last Friday (May 12th) worldwide, and all pre-release indicators pointed towards record sales for the highly-awaited sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In this post, you will find all relevant sales information for the game in as many countries/regions as possible, from various sources (tracking companies, official PR, etc.) so you can get a better idea of how well it sold during launch week.
We will keep updating this post with new data (as soon as it’s available), so keep checking back!
Confirmed numbers as of May 17th:
- Americas: +4 000 000 units (retail + digital)
- Japan: 2 240 000 units (retail + digital)
- France: ~500 000 units (retail-only)
- UK: 208 000 units (retail-only)
- Spain: +170 000 units (retail-only)
- Worldwide total: +10 000 000 units (retail + digital)
May 17th (Spain)
During its launch weekend, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold no less than 170 000 units at retail alone in Spain. That number includes 12 000 units of the Limited Edition.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the second best debut ever for a Nintendo Switch game (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is #1 with over 200 000 units sold at retail), and the best debut for a Legend of Zelda game, in the country. Right now, it’s the 3rd best-selling game in the series, having outsold all other entries except Breath of the Wild (over 550 000 units sold to date, not counting the Wii U version) and Twilight Princess.
Source: Gamereactor
May 17th (Americas, Worldwide)
Nintendo just sent a press release to announce that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold over 10 million units worldwide (retail + digital) during its launch week (May 12th to May 15th). It is now the fastest-selling game in the history of the Legend of Zelda series worldwide.
In the Americas specifically, the game sold over 4 million units, making it the fast-selling selling Nintendo Switch game and the fastest-selling Nintendo game for any system in that region. The game achieved the same feats in Europe.
As of March 2023, the various games in the series have sold over 130 million units (combined). And with this new game, sales are now over 140 million units!
In Japan specifically, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold 2.24 million units (retail + digital).
Source: Nintendo of America PR (17/05/2023) / Nintendo Co. Ltd PR (17/05/2023) / Nintendo of Europe PR (17/05/2023)
May 15th (France)
In France, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is off to a fantastic start with about 500 000 units sold at retail alone (including Collector’s Edition). That’s no less than the best launch performance in Nintendo’s history in the country. The game even managed to outsell behemoths like Read Dead Redemption II and recent FIFA games (multiplatform titles to boot).
One retailer (FNAC) reported “historical” sales for the game with 100 000 units on Friday alone. Among those, 80 000 units were pre-orders. The game sold an additional 17 000 units on Saturday, and 3 000 units on Sunday. The store chain also sold 8 000 units of the new Link amiibo!
According to a representative from FNAC, pre-orders in France were so high, Nintendo was forced to readjust the amount of copies to produce for the French market several times.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom outsold the following games:
- Pokémon Sun and Moon: 425 000 units sold at launch (the game benefited from the Pokémon GO mania at the time)
- EA Sports FIFA 23: 420 000 units sold at launch (1.7 million units sold in 2022)
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: 360 000 units sold at launch
In comparison, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold “only” 96 000 units back in 2017, but that was at the very beginning of the Nintendo Switch lifecycle. The game ended up selling over 1.5 million units (Wii U + Nintendo Switch as of the end of 2022), and with such an explosive start, there’s little doubt Tears of the Kingdom will be able to catch up and even surpass it.
Source: Le Figaro
Additional data: Astral_lion02 (Install Base)
May 15th (United Kingdom)
According to ERA (Digital Entertainment and Retail Association), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold over 208 000 units in the United Kingdom (again, this is retail-only), generating £11.5m in sales. That’s the biggest retail launch in the UK so far, with an even stronger performance than Hogwarts Legacy (about 54% better, though that game heavily skewed towards digital).
With just launch sales, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now the 8th best-selling Zelda game in the country, having outsold games like The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. At launch, the game sold 173% more than its predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In comparison, here’s the biggest launch sales for Nintendo Switch games:
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: 235 000 units sold (with dual-pack counted as 2 units)
- Pokémon Sword and Shield: 191 000 units sold (with dual-pack counted as 2 units)
- Pokémon Brilliant Diadmond and Shining Pearl: 145 000 units sold (with dual-pack counted as 2 units2)
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus: 144 000 units sold
- Animal Crossing: New Horizon: about 130 000 units sold
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: 128 000 units sold
Unlike in France, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom did not see the best launch sales for a Nintendo game ever, as Pokémon Sun and Moon, Wii Fit, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet all did better.
Source: ERA (Twitter)
Additional data: Christopher Dring (Twitter) / Christopher Dring (Twitter) / Lelouch0612 (Install Base)
