In just three months, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment has surpassed one million sales, as announced in Koei Tecmo’s end-of-2025 sales figures. The game was released on 6 November 2025 exclusively on Nintendo’s new console, the Switch 2. It functions as a prequel to the highly successful mainline title The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The game delves into the memories portrayed in Tears of the Kingdom, as players follow Princess Zelda travelling into the past. She must help the founders of the Hylian Kingdom, King Rauru and Queen Sonia, in their efforts to seal Ganondorf away.
Age of Imprisonment was first teased in the 2 April 2025 Nintendo Direct, showcasing upcoming games which were due to launch alongside the long-awaited Switch 2. Hyrule Warriors is a spin-off series, first released in 2014 on the Wii U and became one of the best-selling titles of the console. The success of the first release spurred greater development with Hyrule Warriors: Legends (2016) and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020). The series blends Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors, a traditional fighting game first released in 1997, with Nintendo’s characters from The Legend of Zelda series. Age of Imprisonment places the core emphasis on combat as players must battle large groups of enemies, upgrade actions and weapons in order to defeat Ganondorf.
It is not essential to have played The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to understand and enjoy Age of Imprisonment. However, it provides backstory to the early era of the Hyrule Kingdom and relates to moments shown in Tears of the Kingdom. The game received largely positive reviews and impressions from fans of The Legend of Zelda franchise. For example, some people commenting under a Facebook post claimed that it was “engaging and immersive”, while another commented that it “filled in the blanks of what transpired and set the stage for tears of the kingdom.”
A review of the game, produced by IGN, suggested that the game isn’t for everyone, especially if you are looking for “Zelda’s iconic puzzle-solving and exploration.” But nonetheless, the game is rich in character upgrades and side missions, and is very rewarding for players. It has proved a great spin-off while fans await a highly anticipated announcement of a brand new mainline Legend of Zelda title.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is available now on Nintendo Switch 2.
Words by Charlotte Thomas
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