Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Big Year Gets Complicated by A New AI-Built Port

Nintendo is heading into the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda with one of its most anticipated releases in years, and the company just made sure fans know it’s still coming. In its latest financial report to investors, Nintendo reaffirmed that the Ocarina of Time remake remains on track for a “late 2026” launch, listing it alongside the rest of its Switch 2 first-party lineup. “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is also scheduled to be released this year,” the company told investors on an earnings call.

Nintendo has otherwise stayed quiet on specifics, but a few threads point to a fall release. The remake was recently rated by the ESRB, typically a sign that an official announcement isn’t far off.

A July rumor pointing to a November 11 release date turned out to trace back to leaked amiibo showing up at retailers on that date rather than any confirmed source, but with only five months left in the year, a late-October or early-November window looks like a reasonable bet. Many expect a dedicated Nintendo Direct to arrive soon with the game’s first real gameplay trailer.

While fans wait on the official remake, a very different version of Ocarina of Time has been making the rounds online — and not everyone is thrilled about it. A video shared on X shows the 1998 classic running natively on iOS and iPadOS through Ship of Harkinian, the unofficial, source-available PC port of the game. What’s drawing attention isn’t the port itself, which has existed for years, but how this iteration was built: reportedly with help from OpenAI’s Codex.

Reactions online have split sharply. Some were simply impressed by the technical feat of getting a 27-year-old N64 game running natively on Apple hardware. Others were far more uneasy, raising legal questions about AI tools being used to rebuild existing commercial games, and broader worries about what it means for an industry already reeling from mass layoffs. “Now think about the software that pays your salary,” one commenter warned. “It’s not protected. It’s just waiting for someone with a whim.”

For now, the two Ocarina of Time stories are running on separate tracks: Nintendo’s official remake edging toward a fall announcement, and a scrappy, AI-assisted fan port stirring up a debate the industry hasn’t fully reckoned with yet.