Fans have begun to countdown the days before they reunite with Link in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

This sequel to the critically acclaimed Breath of the Wild will once again allow players to forge their own path through the beautiful landscapes. But this time, with the added mystery of the floating islands.

Thankfully, the wait for this adventure is almost over, and we have a countdown to help players keep track of the time.

How Many Hours Until Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

There are left until The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is officially available in the US. We have a countdown for each time zone listed below.

Tears of the Kingdom will be released on Friday, May 12, 2023, at 12:00 AM (midnight) local time, which is the moment when Thursday night transitions into Friday.

To avoid confusion, all players in America will be able to simultaneously access the game as soon as ET time hits midnight. This will be 9 PM PT, 10 PM MT, and 11 PM CT.

If you haven’t pre-ordered digitally and want to play at midnight you can check if your local GameStop is doing a Midnight Release.

Countdown to Tears of the Kingdom in your Time Zone:

Time ZoneCountdown
NZT (New Zealand)
AET (Australia)
JST (Japan)
CET (Europe)
BST (UK)
ET (East Coast US)
CT (Illinois)
MT (Colorado)
PT (West Coast US)
Countdown to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

If the “You Cannot Play This Software” error message is still appearing for you after release time, you can try these fixes.

Use this countdown to keep track of how many days there are until launch in your region! Due to its midnight local time launch, those in New Zealand will get to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom before anywhere else.

Nintendo has recently shown off the third and final pre-launch trailer for the game, in addition to a gameplay reveal with the series producer Eiji Anouma.

Players will have until the release date to obtain the limited-time bonuses from pre-ordering Tears of the Kingdom.

But many players are lining up to GameStop due to the unique physical bonus the retailer is offering.

TOTK Gameplay

Is There TOTK Early Access?

No, there is no early access for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Players will need to wait until May 12 to start their new adventure in Hyrule.

Nintendo will unlikely add Early Access to any edition of Tears of the Kingdom.

So if Nintendo were to add another premium for an added service like Early Access, the community may not react too positively.

Thankfully, there are ways to purchase Tears of the Kingdom for only $50.