Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is getting (partial) blame for the UK's record inflation

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Zelda gets her very own 'Beyonce Effect'

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

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been cited as a notable source of monetary inflation in the UK.

Inflation figures published by the UK's Office for National Statistics today confirmed that rates would stay high, and while several factors far beyond my tiny mind have contributed to that, one of those is thought to be the new Zelda game. BBC economics editor Faisal Islam tweeted this morning citing HSBC, who suggest that "strength in computer games prices might have been partly due to a release of - aptly titled - 'Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom'."

The ONS report doesn't mention Zelda by name, but it does note a relatively high rate for its 'recreation and culture' section. It also suggests, however, that while that might be the highest rate since 1991, "short-term movements in live music fees and computer game prices should be interpreted with a degree of caution as these movements depend upon the acts that are touring and the composition of bestseller charts respectively." The inclusion of live music within this section refers to a phenomenon often called the 'Beyonce effect' due to the star's ability to shift tickets.

While Zelda might be a factor, plenty of people aren't convinced that she's more important for UK inflation than things like Brexit or the recent actions of some of our elected officials. What we do know, however, is that Tears of the Kingdom was a massive sales success, becoming the fastest-selling game in the series' three-decade history. While the exact breakdown of sales isn't clear, the game spent a month at the top of national boxed charts, only being dethroned by another juggernaut, Diablo 4.

Fingers crossed for more Zelda? Check out our Nintendo Direct live coverage.

Ali Jones
Ali Jones
Managing Editor, News

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for news, shaping the news strategy across the team. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.