Nintendo has confirmed that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake is being developed by its EPD Production Group No. 3. This team previously worked on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This information comes from the first two chapters of Nintendo's "Developer Interview" Vol. 24, released on November 2, just three days before the game's official launch.
The game is directed by HokWai Ng, marking his first time leading a Nintendo game project. Ng joined Nintendo as a planner in 2006 and later contributed to the game design of Tears of the Kingdom. The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma and Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi serve as producers for this title.
Art Director Aya Shida previously worked on Pikmin 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Tears of the Kingdom. Programming Director Hiroki Taguchi was involved in the production of Breath of the Wild. Masato Ohashi, one of the Music Leads and Sound Directors, previously worked on Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass.
Eiji Aonuma stated that the decision to remake the game was partly due to the composition of the development team. He pointed out that many developers currently working with him have only experienced recent The Legend of Zelda titles, so they may not fully understand what the original 1998 Ocarina of Time meant to the entire series. In his view, remaking the game from scratch allows younger developers to gain a deep understanding of the original's structure and development methods, applying these insights to future The Legend of Zelda works. Additionally, the series' upcoming 40th anniversary was another factor driving this remake.
Eiji Aonuma stated that he gave the development team almost full autonomy, allowing them to modify any content in the game as needed. However, he was surprised by how minimal the final changes to the game turned out to be.
He believes that the charm of Ocarina of Time lies in its carefully paced adventure: the game gradually enhances player skills while progressively guiding them through the story. Nintendo hopes that players accustomed to freely exploring from the start in Breath of the Wild can also experience this more linear, step-by-step game structure.
In an interview with AFP, Eiji Aonuma specifically highlighted the contributions of younger developers. Some of these members had never even played the original Ocarina of Time, but they helped the team decide how to adapt this classic title for the current gaming landscape from the perspective of modern players.
Nintendo stated that the first two chapters of this interview mainly introduce how the Switch 2 remake inherits the design philosophy of the original N64 version, how the development team worked to preserve the original experience, and the art direction of the remake. The title of Chapter 2 is "The Graphics Can Change, But the Game Experience Will Not." Chapters 3 and 4 are expected to be released on November 3.
This interview finally resolves months of speculation regarding the game's development team. In September, Norwegian retailer Elkjøp listed Monolith Soft as the developer on its product page, leading many to believe that the studio, which assisted EPD in producing several recent The Legend of Zelda titles, would be responsible for this remake.
Other players speculated that the development might have been handed over to Grezzo. This studio was responsible for the 2011 3DS version of Ocarina of Time 3D, and later developed Majora's Mask 3D, the 2019 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and Echoes of Wisdom in 2024.
The original The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was developed by Nintendo EAD and launched on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, marking the series' first entry with 3D graphics. This Switch 2 version is the second full remake of the title, the first being Ocarina of Time 3D on the Nintendo 3DS.