Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is by far the UK’s biggest boxed launch of 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is off to a fast start at UK retail, comfortably earning the biggest boxed launch of any game in 2023.

According to GfK figures shared by the head of GamesIndustry.biz’s Christopher Dring, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold 54% higher than Hogwarts Legacy, the other large release of 2023.

At the time of writing it’s the fourth biggest Zelda game ever in terms of revenue in the UK.

Nintendo do not share digital sales data, so it’s not an entirely clear picture of the overall success of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom due to the higher adoption of digital downloads.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom guides:

Master Sword location | How to increase inventory space | How to increase hearts and stamina  | How to get warm clothes | Wingsuit location | Hylian Shield location | Duplication glitch

On the Hogwarts Legacy comparison, it’s worth noting that Hogwarts Legacy launched on PS5, Xbox Series and PC earlier in the year, and late last month on last-generation consoles, while Zelda is a Switch exclusive.

Hogwarts has yet to launch on Nintendo Switch. In fact, the Nintendo Switch version has recently been delayed until late in the year, following a previous delay to July.

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom isn’t quite the biggest UK Switch launch, reportedly managing less than Pokemon Scarlet and Violet did when it was released last year.

Following years of delays, the highly anticipated Switch sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild released on May 12.

VGC’s The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom review calls the title “easily one of the very best games on Nintendo Switch”.

Other critics have heaped praise on the game in their write-ups too, with most agreeing it’s a worthy sequel to one of the generation’s best games and one of the long-running franchise’s high points.

You can read all the key verdicts over in our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review round-up.