The Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 release time in North America is 12:00 AM Eastern Time on Thursday, November 5, 2026, which is 9:00 PM Pacific on Wednesday, November 4 (05:00 UTC). That’s the standard eShop unlock on Nintendo’s Americas support page; Nintendo hasn’t posted a game-specific hour. In the UK and Europe, Nintendo’s own FAQ says most games are released “at 00:00 on their release date”. Pre-loading is already open: Nintendo’s eShop price data showed the game as ready to download in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France and Australia when we checked at 14:46 UTC on November 2.
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Ocarina of Time Switch 2 release time in every region
Nintendo of America gives one time for all of its eShop pre-purchases: you can play “after downloading a small update, beginning at 12:00 AM Eastern Time on the game’s release date”. Some third-party games wait until 12:00 PM PT, but Ocarina is published by Nintendo. We converted from 05:00 UTC (US clocks went back on November 1).
| Region | Unlock time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| US Eastern (New York), Canada Eastern (Toronto) | 12:00 AM EST | Thu, Nov 5 |
| US Central (Chicago), Mexico City | 11:00 PM CST | Wed, Nov 4 |
| US Mountain (Denver), Arizona | 10:00 PM MST | Wed, Nov 4 |
| US Pacific (Los Angeles), Vancouver | 9:00 PM PST | Wed, Nov 4 |
| Alaska | 8:00 PM AKST | Wed, Nov 4 |
| Hawaii | 7:00 PM HST | Wed, Nov 4 |
| Atlantic Canada (Halifax) | 1:00 AM AST | Thu, Nov 5 |
| Brazil (São Paulo) | 2:00 AM BRT | Thu, Nov 5 |
| UK | 00:00 (Nintendo UK’s general rule) | Thu, Nov 5 |
| Germany, France and the rest of Nintendo of Europe’s region | 00:00 (Nintendo Europe’s general rule) | Thu, Nov 5 |
| Australia | No hour published; pre-load open | – |
For Europe, the Nintendo UK pre-order FAQ and its German and French versions all say most titles are released at 00:00 on the release date, though “some may become available later during the day”. The page doesn’t name a time zone, and we found no published hour for Australia.
Hyrule Field and Death Mountain in the remake, which pre-loads now ahead of the Nov 5 unlock. Image: Nintendo
Pre-load, price and download size
Digital pre-orders download early and only need a small unlock update on launch day, which Nintendo says installs by itself if the console is in sleep mode and online. The US store page lists the download at about 27 GB. In the eShop price data, the digital game costs $59.99 in the US, CA$84.99 in Canada, £49.99 in the UK, €59.99 in Germany and France, and A$94.95 in Australia. Our Ocarina of Time Switch 2 editions guide covers the physical edition and the regional bonuses.
Midnight launch events
- Nintendo New York: a midnight launch on Thursday, November 5, from 12:00 to 2:00 AM, with a gift with purchase while supplies last (Nintendo’s event page).
- Nintendo San Francisco: a “late night launch” on Wednesday, November 4, from 9:00 to 11:00 PM PT. That’s the same moment as midnight in New York (event page). Both events needed a Warp Pipe Pass reservation and limit buyers to one copy.
- London (reported): VGC reports that Nintendo will hold a UK midnight launch on Wednesday evening at the Nintendo store inside Argos on Tottenham Court Road. According to VGC, buyers get a replica of the UK Nintendo 64 box that fits the Switch 2 game, plus an Ocarina key ring, while supplies last. We couldn’t find the announcement on Nintendo UK’s own website when we checked.
Who developed Ocarina of Time on Switch 2
Nintendo published the first two parts of Ask the Developer Vol. 24 today, with parts 3 and 4 due on November 3. The interview introduces the game as a project of the current Zelda team, and the title card places every member in Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning & Development division. Parts 1 and 2 don’t mention an outside co-developer.
Aonuma, Fujibayashi, Ng, Shida, Taguchi and Ohashi, with their Nintendo EPD departments. Image: Nintendo
| Developer | Role on the remake | Earlier Zelda work (per Nintendo) |
|---|---|---|
| Eiji Aonuma | Producer | Every Zelda game since the 1998 original |
| Hidemaro Fujibayashi | Producer | Director of Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom |
| HokWai Ng | Director | Joined the series on Tears of the Kingdom |
| Aya Shida | Art director | Character work since Breath of the Wild; character lead on Tears of the Kingdom |
| Hiroki Taguchi | Program director | Programmer since Breath of the Wild |
| Masato Ohashi | Sound director and music lead | Music for Tears of the Kingdom and Echoes of Wisdom |
Aonuma says he chose the remake partly because many of today’s Zelda developers have only worked on the recent games, and rebuilding Ocarina could “trigger new insights” for future ones. We covered that quote in today’s live news entry. He also asked for new warp points, then had them removed because they skipped the moments of discovery. Ng sums up the team’s rule as “the visuals may change, but the experience does not”, which is why Hyrule keeps separate maps instead of one seamless world.
Character sketches from the remake's art development, shown in Ask the Developer Part 2. Image: Nintendo
What’s next
Parts 3 and 4 of the interview arrive on November 3, and the game unlocks at 9:00 PM PT on November 4 in North America. Nintendo hasn’t mentioned a day-one update. For what changed, see our 8 new features breakdown, the overview trailer recap and the Dark Link ad. We’ll update this page if Nintendo posts a specific unlock time.
Sources: Nintendo Support (Americas), Nintendo UK pre-order FAQ, Nintendo US store, Nintendo eShop price data, Ask the Developer Vol. 24 Part 1 and Part 2, Nintendo New York and San Francisco event pages, VGC. Checked November 2, 2026, 14:46 UTC.
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Featured image: Nintendo
