Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom outsells Elden Ring, equals Pokemon sales in its first three days

In its first three days, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has already managed to sell 10 million copies, outselling Elden Ring’s launch, and making it on par with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

You will probably be entirely unsurprised to hear that Tears of the Kingdom has sold ridiculously well, with Nintendo sharing today that the game has sold more than 10 million copies within the first three days. “The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom has sold over 10 million copies worldwide in its first three days, becoming the fastest-selling game in the history of the Legend of Zelda series,” reads the tweet announcing the impressive stat. “Thanks to those already enjoying Link’s latest adventure!”

It can’t be understated how massive a figure this is. For context, lifetime sales of Breath of the Wild are currently sitting at around 30 million, meaning its sequel has managed to sell a third of that not even a week into its release. It’s also doing incredibly well compared to other, similar titles; Elden Ring sold a still very impressive 13.4 million copies in its first month, putting Tears of the Kingdom well ahead already.

“We’re grateful for all of our fans who’ve shown their passion for The Legend of Zelda over the years, and these sales numbers for the latest instalment continue to show the strong momentum for both the franchise and Nintendo Switch this year,” shared vice president of sales, marketing, and communications at Nintendo of America Devon Pritchard in a press release.

Tears of the Kingdom is also on the same pace as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which also managed to sell 10 million copies in the same time frame. What’s notable here is that Pokemon games generally have a broader appeal, but the dual releases also help the game’s sales, making Tears of the Kingdom’s achievement all the more impressive. It also joins the pair of most recent Pokemon games as being the fastest selling game in their respective series. The Zelda sequel is also already off to a faster start than the next best-selling console game, and could even catch up to it.

If you are surprised at how successful Tears of the Kingdom has been, you must not be aware of the fact it’s currently the highest rated game of all time on OpenCritic, as well as the highest rated game of the year so far.

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