Nintendo counts 22.90 million copies of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold through September 30, 2026. No public tracker reports how many people play it at the same moment.
This page covers what can be measured: quarterly unit sales, the 352.4K Twitch viewer record, launch sales by region, Famitsu’s weekly Japan data and the Switch 2 Edition.
Tears of the Kingdom Concurrent Player Count
Is There a Live Tears of the Kingdom Player Count Right Now?
No. Nintendo’s Top Selling Title Sales Units data reports copies sold for Tears of the Kingdom, not active, daily or concurrent players.
The game runs on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 and has no Steam version. Steam releases get public concurrent tracking, as with Black Myth: Wukong, while Switch titles do not.
Twitch is the nearest live signal, and it counts viewers rather than players.
TwitchMetrics ranked the channel Linguue first among Tears of the Kingdom streamers for October 2026, at 123 average viewers. Cervic4l placed second at 120.
Source: Nintendo Co., Ltd. IR, as of September 30, 2026; TwitchMetrics, October 2026
352.4K at Once: The Concurrent Twitch Peak From May 12, 2023
Streams Charts logged 352.4K peak concurrent viewers for Tears of the Kingdom on May 12, 2023, release day.
Live channels topped out at 9.6K that same evening. Viewers logged 5.1M hours watched on May 12 alone.
Korean streamer 한동숙 (Handongsuk) led the first week with 938,759 hours watched, the most of any channel in that span.
Source: Streams Charts, Twitch data for May 12 to May 18, 2023
TwitchTracker records a close but different peak: 351,714 viewers and 9,110 channels, both dated May 11, 2023.
Source: TwitchTracker, all-time Twitch records for the game
For a Steam-tracked launch record to compare against, see Elden Ring’s peak player data.
Viewer totals measure watching, not playing. The Red Dead Redemption 2 player count breakdown sets Steam players beside Twitch figures for another open-world game.
Tears of the Kingdom Player Count Over Time: 18.51M to 22.90M Units
Nintendo reported 18.51M units by June 30, 2023, seven weeks after launch. The total reached 22.90M on September 30, 2026.
Nintendo’s counts include downloads and copies bundled with hardware. Nintendo does not convert units into active players.
| Reporting date | Units sold, life-to-date |
|---|---|
| June 30, 2023 | 18.51 million |
| December 31, 2023 | 20.28 million |
| December 31, 2024 | 21.55 million |
| September 30, 2025 | 22.15 million |
| December 31, 2025 | 22.40 million |
| June 30, 2026 | 22.71 million |
| September 30, 2026 | 22.90 million |
Source: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Top Selling Title Sales Units, June 2023 to September 2026
Industry-wide sales for the category are tracked in these open world games statistics.
How Many People Bought Tears of the Kingdom in North America and Japan?
Nintendo’s only regional figures cover launch. Over 10 million units sold worldwide in the first three days after the May 12, 2023 release.
| Region | Units sold, first three days |
|---|---|
| Worldwide | Over 10 million |
| Americas | Over 4 million |
| Japan | 2.24 million |
Source: Nintendo of America and Nintendo Co., Ltd. announcements, May 17, 2023
Nintendo of America said the Americas result made it the fastest-selling Nintendo game for any system in that territory. The figure also covers Latin America, and Nintendo has not published a North America-only number.
Nintendo put lifetime Zelda series sales above 130 million units as of March 2023. That run dates back to 1986 and includes Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64.
Source: Nintendo Co., Ltd., May 17, 2023
Japan’s No. 1 Boxed Game of 2023
| Rank | Game | Boxed units sold in Japan, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | 1,929,603 |
| 2 | Super Mario Bros. Wonder | 1,549,401 |
| 3 | Pikmin 4 | 1,119,027 |
Source: Famitsu annual report, December 26, 2022 to December 31, 2023
Famitsu’s annual count covers boxed retail copies only. Nintendo eShop downloads fall outside it.
8th on the Switch Top 10: Where the Tears of the Kingdom Player Base Ranks
Tears of the Kingdom ranks eighth among Nintendo Switch titles at 22.90M units. Breath of the Wild sits fourth at 34.28M.
Super Mario Party follows in ninth at 21.39M. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe leads the list at 72.00M.
Per Nintendo’s footnote, boxed Switch 2 Editions count as Switch 2 software, while downloaded Switch 2 Editions count as Switch software. No Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition appears on Nintendo’s Switch 2 best-seller list.
Source: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Top Selling Title Sales Units, as of September 30, 2026
Do People Still Play Tears of the Kingdom? Switch 2 Edition Sales in Japan
Sales data cannot show play time. It does show that the boxed Switch 2 Edition still sells every week in Japan.
Famitsu estimated 1,522 sales for October 26 to November 1, 2026, bringing the edition’s Japan total to 85,187.
| Edition | Oct 19 to 25, 2026 | Oct 26 to Nov 1, 2026 | Lifetime to Nov 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tears of the Kingdom, Switch 2 Edition | 1,369 | 1,522 | 85,187 |
| Breath of the Wild, Switch 2 Edition | 1,247 | 1,548 | 102,909 |
Source: Famitsu weekly sales estimates for Japan, October 19 to November 1, 2026
Famitsu’s weekly estimates combine packaged software and download cards. Nintendo eShop purchases fall outside these figures.
Who Plays Tears of the Kingdom: Age Rating, Platforms and Demographic Data
The ESRB rates Tears of the Kingdom E10+ (Everyone 10+) for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes. The Switch 2 Edition carries the same rating.
Source: ESRB rating records
Nintendo has published no age or gender breakdown of the game’s players. For genre-level audience data, see our game genre popularity statistics.
| Platform | Version | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch | Original release | May 12, 2023 |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | Nintendo Switch 2 Edition | June 5, 2025 |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | Upgrade Pack, $9.99 or included with Switch Online + Expansion Pack | June 5, 2025 |
Source: Nintendo and ESRB, checked November 2026
The game launched at a suggested US price of $69.99, according to Nintendo.
FAQs
How many people have played Tears of the Kingdom?
No player total exists. Nintendo reports 22.90 million units sold worldwide as of September 30, 2026. That figure counts copies, not unique or active players.
What was the Tears of the Kingdom peak player count?
Nintendo never published one. The closest concurrent record is 352.4K Twitch viewers on May 12, 2023, per Streams Charts. Sales also peaked early, with over 10 million units sold in three days.
Is Tears of the Kingdom still popular in 2026?
Sales continue at a slower pace. Units rose from 22.71 million on June 30, 2026 to 22.90 million on September 30, 2026, per Nintendo. The Switch 2 Edition sold 1,522 copies in Japan during October 26 to November 1, 2026.
Why do Reddit threads say there is no TOTK live player count?
Because none is public. Nintendo reports unit sales only, and the game is not on Steam, so concurrent trackers cannot read it. Twitch viewer counts are the nearest live signal.
Did Tears of the Kingdom outsell Breath of the Wild?
Not yet. As of September 30, 2026, Nintendo lists Breath of the Wild at 34.28 million Switch units and Tears of the Kingdom at 22.90 million.
Sources
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/software/switch.html
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230517005400/en
https://streamscharts.com/games/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom
https://www.famitsu.com/ranking/game-sales/
https://icon-era.com/threads/famitsu-2023-annual-nsw-1-15-ps5-2-124-xbs-3-47-zelda-totk-1-mario-wonder-2-pikmin-4-3-physical-only-highest-ps5-sales-since-2004.8696