You’d think that working at Nintendo would keep you plugged into what the company is planning, but that doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to certain games. In the latest episode of the Kit & Krysta podcast, former NOA employee Kit Ellis explains how the Big N kept the existence of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom from most of the staff before it was revealed at E3 2019.
As Ellis recalls, Tears of the Kingdom was given a higher level of security than other Nintendo projects, meaning only the team working on it and key staff members were privy to its existence. Since Ellis was the director of social media marketing and content creation at the time, he was granted early information to prepare marketing campaigns immediately following the game’s reveal. “I had a ton to do,” Ellis said, “There was this big communications team, like an E3 machine, cranking out materials, and obviously the main place for this was in the Nintendo Direct.”
Co-host Krysta Yang added that NOA staff were taken by complete surprise after the teaser played. While it was obvious a sequel to Breath of the Wild would be in development, no one was expecting an announcement so soon. The staff, surprisingly, were thrilled with the shock reveal as such an event is unlikely when working at a specific games company.
While I, personally, would have loved to know ahead of time, I can see the joy that such a surprise announcement brings. As a critic and writer, it’s fun to learn about new things at the same time as everyone else. As an employee of the company making the game, it’s likely interesting to have that sensation again after knowing how the sausage is made for so long.
Check out more Zelda content
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake officially coming to Switch 2 in 2026
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild soundtrack vinyl collection delayed to September
Leave a Comment
Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
