Nintendo to release the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild soundtrack on vinyl — for collectors and the bitches with the record players

In June 2026, Nintendo will finally be releasing one of its soundtracks outside of Japan and on vinyl. And of all the soundtracks they could have chosen, they went with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Which makes sense, because of the Switch of it all. But this choice does have me scratching my head a little, because who really remembers much of the music from Breath of the Wild? That’s a generalisation. Sure. But also, hum me at least 5 pieces of music from that game?

Okay.

But this is great news for those who do know and love the soundtrack. It’s also great for those who are collectors and have no intention of putting a needle on any of them records. Because in addition to the Breath of the Wild soundtrack releasing in a standard 2-LP edition, there will also be a deluxe 8-LP edition.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Deluxe Vinyl | Nintendo

The packaging and the vinyls look really nice. If this is setting the expectation for what we can look forward to when them Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker soundtracks hit, then bitch — sign me up to Club Nintendo.

Nintendo’s Vice President of Player & Product Experience Bill Trinen (that white man who was Shigeru ‘Mario’s Daddy’ Miyamoto’s translator and has been showing up in Nintendo videos and events for YEARS) had this to say about the release and explain the ‘why now?’.

“In the Japanese market, CD is still a pretty prominent format there, and they do a lot of video game soundtracks on CD in Japan, and they’ve been doing that for years and years,” told Variety. “Here in the U.S., we haven’t been releasing much in the way of physical soundtracks at all. And so partly, this is a little bit about us trying to gauge and understand what is the demand for physical soundtracks in the United States. Part of this is also simply an interest in trying to bring video game music to a broader audience, and it’s part of a few steps that we’ve taken.”

I have been a Nintendo fan my entire life. But they get on my damn nerves a lot of the time. Nintendo are geniuses who regularly make such ass-end choices. To release a soundtrack on vinyl in 2025 and say that it’s to see what the demand is for physical soundtracks in the United States is crazy to me. Fans in the Americas and across Europe have been screaming at Nintendo for YEARS to release their soundtracks physically. I vividly remember the fuss fans kicked up over Nintendo revealing the physical Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack, just to then sucker punch them by only making it available via their membership program.

I still think that Breath of the Wild is such a strange soundtrack to test the waters with. On one hand, I get it. Because, if a Breath of the Wild soundtrack will sell well, then Nintendo knows that physical releases of games with better known and highly regarded soundtracks, such as Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker and Super Mario Galaxy will fly off the shelves. But still, doing a test with a soundtrack which is more heralded would have made more sense to me. Breath of the Wild is a game many people love and adore — but one thing about the game you won’t see people regularly talk about is its soundtrack, because the score to the game is so sparse and sparingly used.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Deluxe Vinyl | Nintendo

Nintendo has a weird history with physical soundtrack releases. Nintendo has been releasing video game soundtracks in Japan for quite some time. Tower Records in Shibuya has an entire floor dedicated to video game and anime soundtracks, and there’s a whole section which is just Nintendo. But outside of Japan, it’s always been a different story. Nintendo has made select soundtracks available through its membership programs. It has also bundled soundtracks with some of their games. And WAAAAAAAAAY back in the olden days, Nintendo would also pack in soundtracks with magazines. Nintendo did everything but just release the damn soundtracks for purchase outside of Japan. So it’s great to see them finally do it. Nintendo hasn’t always had an online store, which I’m sure factored into the availability. But most of it was probably just Nintendo being Nintendo and being late to the party. Don’t even get me started on digital availability and streaming.

It woulda been nice for the Breath of the Wild soundtrack to release in CD format too, as I think this would have helped massively in testing the demand for soundtracks and if there is a preferred format amongst consumers. But I get why they went for vinyl. It’s a cooler looking offering, vinyl sales are big right now and there is just something special about vinyl.
I really hope Nintendo has a plan to release the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack on vinyl. If they did, that shit would chart on the Billboard 200. Wigger’s love that soundtrack.