Nintendo of America Updates Official Legend of Zelda Timeline

Nintendo of America has updated the official English-language timeline for The Legend of Zelda introducing a major shift to the backstory leading into The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Quick Facts

• Nintendo of America updated the official English-language Zelda timeline in 2026.
• The update shifts the first Great Calamity from 10,000 years before Breath of the Wild to just a century or two prior.
• According to the revised sequence, the Imprisoning War happens, 9,900 years pass, the first Great Calamity occurs, and then 100 years pass before the second Great Calamity in Breath of the Wild.
• The update follows a Japanese timeline update earlier in the year that clarified the founding of Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom's flashbacks as a new Hyrule.

Timeline Changes Explained

Previously, the timeline established that Hyrule was refounded, Ganondorf appeared and was sealed in the Imprisoning War, and untold generations passed before Calamity Ganon emerged to ravage the kingdom. Shiekah technology pushed back that event, and 10,000 years elapsed before the events of Breath of the Wild.

Under the new English-language timeline update, the Imprisoning War is followed by a 9,900-year gap leading directly to the first Great Calamity. That event is now placed just 100 years before Ganon reemerges in Breath of the Wild—an event now referred to as the second Great Calamity. This new placement places the pre-Calamity world much closer to the timeline of the game itself, despite characters in Breath of the Wild attempting to uncover secrets of an era long faded into myth.

Fan Reception and Series Context

The sudden adjustment has sparked heavy debate among series purists on discussion platforms like Reddit, with many questioning how the compressed gap aligns with in-game lore. The Zelda timeline has maintained multiple branching paths since the release of Ocarina of Time though series creator Shigeru Miyamoto previously noted that continuity is not a primary focus for the developers.