Is GameStop Doing a Midnight Release for Tears of the Kingdom?

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the much anticipated sequel to Breath of the Wild, arrives on Nintendo Switch on Friday, May 12. But just how soon can you play it? If there’s a GameStop near, you might well be wondering if GameStop is doing a midnight release for Tears of the Kingdom. We have the answer.

GameStop Is Doing a Tears of the Kingdom Midnight Release, with Caveats

The short answer is that, yes, GameStop is doing a The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom midnight release where you can turn up at 12:00 a.m. ET on May 12 and pick up your copy of Tears. At least — you can if you’ve preordered. If you haven’t preordered, it’ll depend on how many copies are in stock.

However, there are caveats to be aware of. Not all GameStop stores are doing a midnight opening; it’s on a store-by-store basis. GameStop Canada, for example, has a page listing for when and where you can pick up Tears from your local store.

GameStop US doesn’t have an equivalent page and, unlike the Canada division, hasn’t been quite as vocal about its midnight openings. We’d advise you check in with your local store to find out when you can collect your copy. Anecdotally, one of our local GameStops in Pennsylvania is planning to do a costume contest during the opening, and it will open its doors for the Tears of the Kingdom midnight launch sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

You will want to check if GameStop locations outside of the ET time zone are opening at different hours to release the game, but the game will definitely not be made available anywhere in the US earlier than 12:00 a.m. ET.

Are There Any GameStop-Exclusive TotK Bonuses?

If you preorder The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom through GameStop, you’ll get a special wooden plaque. If you purchase it on the day you should also get the plaque. In practice, it’s likely to be subject to stock.

Each store will also, according to GameStop, be getting at least four copies of the collector’s edition, which is sold out online. So if you’re among the first four in the queue, you may be able to net yourself a copy of that edition.

Is Anywhere Else Doing a Midnight Release?

It’s worth checking in with your local store, whether independent or chain, to see if they will be letting people pick up The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at midnight.

The Nintendo NY store confirmed it is opening its doors for a midnight launch, for those who have reserved a place online, but it appears all available reservations have been placed by now. If you don’t already have a reservation, you likely won’t be able to make one now.

In the UK, we’ve seen one or two independent stores state they were holding midnight releases. Game did, at one time, do midnight releases but has said nothing about doing one for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

That’s all you need to know about GameStop doing a midnight release for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.