'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—Secrets of the Zonai' Delayed to Early 2027
September 19th 2026
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was unsurprisingly a huge hit for Nintendo, but fans in the West have been without an artbook for some time. Fortunately, the good people over at Dark Horse Books stepped in to reveal The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—Secrets of the Zonai earlier this year, but the wait will be a little longer as it has been pushed to a 2027 release.
Originally announced for October 20th, 2026, the huge 472-page hardcover book has been hit with a delay and is now expected to arrive on March 30th, 2027. The vast majority of delays come without a statement or acknowledgement from publishers, but in this case an email from Dark Horse was sent to people subscribed to their newsletters with the information, which was very much appreciated.
Their statement read as follows;
"The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—Secrets of the Zonai will launch March 30, 2027. Thank you for your patience as we prepare the highest standard of quality that you have come to expect and deserve."
Dark Horse are one of the biggest publishers of artbooks for video games, if not the biggest, and their production quality is always excellent, so this transparency to meet that expectation is understandable. It's also worth noting that there will be a Hero's Edition, and it could well be this that needs the extra time.
This version of the book includes a lush green slipcase, an exclusive cover, a cloth map of the Depths, an art print, and a replica of the Secret Stone of Time. Editions like this can often involve multiple manufactures and shifting schedules, but deliver something special for those with the space on their shelf to display collectibles for their favourite titles.
The book itself is a shelf-filler on its own, featuring 50 pages of illustrations, character art, and promotional images, followed by 300 pages of sketches, rough designs, concept art, storyboards, and more, all highlighting the visual journey of the game's creation. To add to this, there are also over 80 pages of Hyrule's history and interviews with the creators, such as Producer Eiji Aonuma, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, and Art Director Satoru Takizawa, making it the ultimate companion to the game.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launched in 2023 as a sequel to Breath of the Wild. The game continues Link's story and expands of the previous release with new abilities, weapons, and environments to explore. While protecting Hyrule, pleayers can discover the kingdom’s forgotten history while searching once again for Princess Zelda. The game was a critical and commercial hit, praised for its exploration, combat, puzzles, and story, all of which helped it go on to sell over 20 million copies.
For those wanted a copy of the book, you can order both the standard and Hero's Edition of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom—Secrets of the Zonai here;
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