Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake sells 5.2m copies in four days

Nintendo’s Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake has sold 5.2m copies since its recent Switch 2 release

Nintendo’s remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has sold 5.2 million copies worldwide within its first four days on sale, according to figures released by the company.

The achievement makes it the highest-selling game globally for the Nintendo Switch 2.

The sales performance has prompted discussion among fans about the remake’s development costs, staffing and production timeline.

Estimates circulating online have suggested that the game cost between $40 million and $50 million to develop, involved approximately 200 staff members and took three years to complete.

However, the game’s credits list more than 1,000 people, raising questions about the staffing estimate. While the 200-person figure could refer to the core development team, the wider credits include hundreds of additional contributors.

The credits also acknowledge around 30 external companies, including Monolith Soft and Bandai Namco.

Monolith previously contributed to the development of the open-world architecture for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Bandai Namco, meanwhile, is known for providing art outsourcing services to major Japanese game productions.

With 5.2 million copies sold in four days, the remake has reportedly already recovered its estimated development costs and generated a profit.

As a first-party Nintendo release, the company also avoids the additional 30 per cent revenue share typically associated with third-party platform publishing.