The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will not appear at this year's PAX East, which will be held from March 23 to 26. Although the news is disappointing for some fans, there is still plenty to be excited about when it comes to the Boston-based event, according to Nintendo. The release date for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is fast approaching, therefore fans are likely confused as to why it's skipping PAX East, but the reason for the absence could be very simple.
For the second year, PAX East is returning to a live venue. Due to lingering COVID concerns, most major game developers skipped the 2022 event, which made fans wonder if this will be the standard from now on. However, things seem to be looking up for PAX East as two big names have confirmed their presence at the convention. Nintendo and Square Enix will both be there, the latter bringing Final Fantasy 16, which is coming out in June. However, despite the fact that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is coming out before the latest Final Fantasy, Nintendo has confirmed it's not showing the game at PAX East.
According to a Nintendo spokesperson, the company will be hosting competitive gaming, but no further elaboration was given on the exact activities. Regardless of what Nintendo is actually bringing to PAX East, it's easy to speculate on why Tears of the Kingdom will be skipping the convention. Before the next Zelda game comes out, there's another big release on Nintendo's calendar, and that's The Super Mario Bros. Movie. So it seems likely Nintendo will decide to rather focus its promotion around that product for now instead of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Even if this development is a disappointment to some fans, overall, the fact that big names such as Nintendo and Square Enix are returning to the convention scene should be a reason for optimism. Beyond the aforementioned two, other bigger names have also confirmed their presence such as the French studio Focus Entertainment and Austrian video game publisher THQ Nordic, but there's no news on what games they're bringing along to the event.
The fact that big gaming companies are once again taking part in conventions is good news, even if they're only present in small numbers for now. At least fans know they won't have to wait for too long now for the release of Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released for Nintendo Switch on May 12.
Source: Boston Herald