Nintendo is billing Switch 2’s upcoming Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment as “the story leading into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” giving players the chance to participate in the Imprisoning War that occurred during Hyrule’s ancient past. According to developer Koei Tecmo, the game will also delve further into the lore and characters from this mysterious time period.
“This game takes place during the Imprisoning War, which is shown in fragments in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom,” Koei Tecmo’s Yosuke Hayashi said during Nintendo’s latest Creator’s Voice video. “In this Hyrule Warriors game, you’ll see how the people of Hyrule contended with the threat of the original Ganondorf.”
Though the war is the focal point of the story, Age of Imprisonment will also offer a deeper look at Hyrule itself. “As a story that you can only fully experience here, it doesn’t just depict the battles of the Imprisoning War via a Warriors game. It also shows life in the kingdom of Hyrule after Princess Zelda is sent back in time,” Koei Tecmo producer Ryota Matsushita explained.
Moreover, the game will shed light on some mysterious characters from this time period. As previously confirmed, King Rauru and Mineru will both be playable characters, but Matsushita teases that players will “also get to know the four masked sages from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.”
Like previous Warriors games, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a large-scale action game that pits players against hundreds of enemies at a time, with more appearing on the battlefield than before thanks to Switch 2’s added horsepower. “Nintendo Switch 2 has made it possible to include lots of enemies in our Warriors games,” Matsushita explained.
“At the same time, it was also important that you could play with higher frame rates than the Nintendo Switch system. We were able to achieve that with this game,” Hayashi added.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is slated to arrive “this winter,” while the Switch 2 itself will launch on June 5 for $450. Nintendo is also offering a limited-time Mario Kart World bundle for $500, but this will only be available through Fall 2025.
