The New Zealand trick allows gamers to play most releases that launch at midnight local time up to a day early – but will The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom benefit from the exploit?
If you’re not-so-patiently waiting for Tears of the Kingdom to release, you might be glad to hear that there’s a way to get your hands on the game early.
However, it’s not for everyone.
Does the New Zealand Trick Work for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?
Yes, the New Zealand trick will work for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, allowing fans to play almost a day early in many regions of the world. However, it is not worth it for most Nintendo Switch owners.
Unlike Xbox consoles, which let users set their region to New Zealand and play games as soon as they go live in the region, the Nintendo Switch is far less willing to give players early access.
Instead, players will have to make a new Nintendo account and pay with a card registered to New Zealand, in order to enjoy the new Zelda early.
How to Play Tears of the Kingdom Early With NZ Trick
Although we don’t recommend it, players can get their hands on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom early with this method:
- Create a new Nintendo account with your location set to New Zealand.
- Sign into your new account on your Nintendo Switch console.
- This method will require you to sign into the NZ account each time you want to play TOTK.
- Use a New Zealand debit card to purchase a copy of Tears of the Kingdom via the Switch eShop.
- Cards from other regions will not work and New Zealand prices may be slightly higher than the price of the Zelda game in your region.
- Install the game which is available to pre-load now.
You will then be able to play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom the moment it hits midnight in New Zealand on release day.
For everyone else, you’ll be stuck waiting until Tears of the Kingdom releases in your region. But it’ll make playing the game a lot easier in the long run.
What Time Does Tears of the Kingdom Release in New Zealand?
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases at 12 AM NZST in .
Thanks to the magic of time zones, this will mean that players are able to get access to TOTK at the following times:
- 5 AM PT (May 11)
- 8 AM ET (May 11)
- 1 PM BST (May 11)
- 2 PM CEST (May 11)
With those in the US basically getting a full day of early playtime, we can understand the excitement. But for most gamers, we wouldn’t recommend going through the effort required to set up an entirely new Nintendo account.
After all, signing into it every time you want to access TOTK is sure to be frustrating. And at this point, we’re so close to release day as it is.
To make the wait less painful, here’s some new information from Nintendo regarding how Tears of the Kingdom will begin!