The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been rated for the very first time.
As spotted by Gematsu earlier today on November 18, the highly anticipated Breath of the Wild sequel has just been rated in Korea. The rating has apparently granted Tears of the Kingdom a 12+ classification, primarily due to its violent content pertaining to attacks on human beings.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been rated in Korea: https://t.co/24vSwJb1wkGematsu page: https://t.co/wy3kDu9JwH pic.twitter.com/tPGGBZatGWNovember 18, 2022
If you're familiar with the games industry landscape at all, you're probably not surprised to hear Korea has been the first nation to grant a rating to Tears of the Kingdom. The Korean ratings board nearly always rates games ahead of other countries around the world, becoming the first to rate God of War Ragnarok earlier this year in May, for example.
Sometimes, the Korean ratings board even rates titles that haven't been announced yet. That's exactly what happened earlier this year, when Korea granted a rating to a game called 'Silent Hill: The Short Message' before Konami had the chance to properly reveal the game. Speaking of, in fact, Konami still hasn't actually announced The Short Message, even after their big Silent Hill showcase.
It's a positive sign that Tears of the Kingdom has been rated so far in advance of release, though. The Zelda sequel isn't due out until next year on May 12, 2023, but the fact enough pieces are in place for the entire product to be given an official rating should be taken as a positive sign by Zelda fans.
Tears of the Kingdom's trailer had been changes for Death Mountain and Hyrule Castle, which fans think mean apocalyptic events are on the table for the sequel.
