Latest The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom rating includes "fantasy violence and suggestive themes"

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom artwork
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has now been rated by the ESRB, and it features "fantasy violence and suggestive themes", which has fans thinking. 

As spotted by Twitter user @Genki_JPN, the Nintendo Store's US website now features an E10+ rating from the ESRB (the organization responsible for rating video games in the US) on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom listing. This is apparently due to its "fantasy violence and suggestive themes."

The 'Everyone 10+' rating, according to the ESRB website, basically means that the game may contain "cartoon, fantasy, or mild violence, mild language, and/or minimal suggestive themes." The first Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game has the same rating, giving you an idea of the kind of "suggestive themes" that could be in the sequel. 

This hasn't stopped The Legend of Zelda fans from theorizing as to what these "suggestive themes" could be, though. As spotted in the Nintendo subreddit, several fans have been joking about how far this E10+ rating could go. For example, one fan has proposed that Tears of the Kingdom could contain literal "blood and tears", while others have gone in the complete opposite direction by bringing up The Great Fairies (Cotera, Kaysa, Mija, and Tera) who are known for their revealing outfits. 

It seems that Tears of the Kingdom is truly on its way now as this is the second time the game has been rated in recent months. In November, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was rated as 12+ Korea, despite the game being six months off of release. If you didn't know, the Breath of the Wild sequel is due to release on May 12, 2023. 

If you're eager to get the upcoming game ordered, take a look at our The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom pre-order guide to find the best deal for you. 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.