Keith Ellis says Nintendo hid Tears of the Kingdom announcement from almost everyone

Keith Ellis says Nintendo kept the first announcement of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom under unprecedented secrecy, and that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was one of the company's most locked-down projects. The former senior Nintendo PR manager said the game's existence was known to fewer than 10 people at Nintendo of America before the official reveal at E3 2019.

Ellis added that even his direct manager was not told about the plan. According to him, only one employee in the legal department had access to the materials, and the whole rollout was arranged so carefully that information would not spread between teams.

He said his work on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild had helped Nintendo trust him with the announcement. Ellis also said he had to handle the work of several teams himself, including writing posts for social media.

Nintendo later had to move one of the game's presentations after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The official Nintendo of America trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, uploaded as Official Trailer #3, was described as the final pre-launch trailer.

The story leaves one clear impression: Nintendo did not just guard the sequel's reveal — it wrapped the entire process in layers of control. Even for a company known for secrecy, Ellis's account suggests this one was handled with unusual care.

It is worth noting that a full remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was announced during a Nintendo Direct showcase in early June. Prior to that, a GameStop search leak uncovered the start date for the game's pre-orders.

Does Nintendo's level of secrecy make a bigger reveal more effective, or does it go too far?