You’ve probably seen the name floating around. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. It sounds official. It sounds like the logical successor to the 2020 hit Age of Calamity. But if you’re looking for a cartridge to pop into your Switch or a digital download on the eShop, you're going to hit a wall. There is no official game with that title.
Let's be real. The Legend of Zelda timeline is already a total disaster. Between the split after Ocarina of Time and the massive ten-thousand-year gaps in Breath of the Wild lore, fans are desperate for more "Warriors-style" prequels to fill the holes. The "Age of Imprisonment" is a real, canonical era in Zelda history, but it hasn't received the Musou treatment from Koei Tecmo yet. Most of the talk you see online about a specific game called Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment actually stems from high-effort fan concepts, "leak" rumors that went nowhere, or simple confusion between the different eras of Hyrule's bloody past.
It’s easy to see why people get mixed up. We have Hyrule Warriors (the 2014 crossover), Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (the Breath of the Wild prequel), and then the actual "Imprisoning War" mentioned in A Link to the Past and Tears of the Kingdom.
What is the Imprisoning War anyway?
To understand why people keep searching for a Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment game, you have to look at the lore. In the classic timeline—specifically the "Downfall" path—the Imprisoning War happened after Ganondorf defeated Link in Ocarina of Time. It was a brutal, desperate struggle where the Seven Sages had to seal Ganon away in the Dark World because there was no hero left to wield the Master Sword.
It’s dark. It’s gritty. It's basically perfect for a Hyrule Warriors game.
Then Tears of the Kingdom came along and used the same name—The Imprisoning War—for a completely different event involving Rauru, the first King of Hyrule. This version of the "Age of Imprisonment" features the Zonai, the ancient Sages, and a version of Ganondorf that looks like he stepped out of a heavy metal album cover. Because Age of Calamity was such a massive sales success for Nintendo and Koei Tecmo, fans naturally assumed a Tears of the Kingdom prequel was inevitable.
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Why the "Age of Imprisonment" game doesn't exist yet
Nintendo is notoriously unpredictable. Honestly, after Age of Calamity sold over 4 million copies, a follow-up seemed like a no-brainer. But there are a few reasons why we haven't seen a tactical slasher based on Rauru's era or the classic SNES-era Imprisoning War.
First, Age of Calamity was polarizing. Some people loved the "Dynasty Warriors" gameplay, but a lot of die-hard Zelda fans were annoyed by the "butterfly effect" time-travel plot. They wanted a true tragedy where everyone dies at the end (like they were promised in the marketing), but they got a "happily ever after" alternate reality instead. If Nintendo ever does make a game centered on the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment concept, they have to decide: do we stick to the script, or do we change history again?
Development cycles at Omega Force (the Koei Tecmo studio) are also busy. They’ve been toggling between Fire Emblem Warriors, Fate/Samurai Remnant, and their own flagship titles. While rumors of a "Zonai-era" Musou game persist in 2026, nothing has been formally greenlit for public consumption.
Breaking down the lore confusion
If you're trying to keep the timelines straight, it's a nightmare. You've basically got three different "Ages" that people frequently confuse:
- The Calamity: This is 100 years before Breath of the Wild. We already have a game for this (Age of Calamity). It features the Divine Beasts and the four Champions.
- The Founding Era (TotK Imprisoning War): This is thousands of years in the past. It involves Rauru, Sonia, and the birth of the Demon King. This is what most people mean when they talk about a potential new Hyrule Warriors game.
- The Classic Imprisoning War: This is the post-Ocarina of Time era. It’s the story of the Knights of Hyrule sacrificing themselves to buy the Sages time.
The fan-made "Age of Imprisonment" trailers you see on YouTube? Most of them are just cleverly edited clips from Tears of the Kingdom cutscenes mixed with Age of Calamity gameplay. They look real. They look professional. But they aren't official products.
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The gameplay potential of a Zonai-era Warriors game
Think about the mechanics for a second. If a real Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment ever happens, it would look vastly different from the previous titles. In Age of Calamity, we used the Sheikah Slate. In a Tears of the Kingdom prequel, we’d be using the Ultrahand and Fuse abilities on a massive scale.
Imagine 1,000 Bokoblins charging at you while you're piloting a massive, Zonai-powered tank you built in real-time. Or playing as Rauru and using light beams to clear entire fields of monsters. The roster is already built-in. You’d have Rauru, Sonia, Mineru, and the ancient Sages of Fire, Water, Lightning, and Wind. It’s a goldmine for character-based action.
But there’s a catch. Tears of the Kingdom already told that story through the Dragon’s Tears. We know how it ends. We know Rauru sacrifices himself. Unlike Breath of the Wild, which left the 100-year war largely to our imagination, Tears of the Kingdom was pretty explicit about its past. This might be why Nintendo is hesitant to revisit it so soon.
Where the rumors come from
Most of the "Age of Imprisonment" leaks come from 4chan or "insider" Twitter accounts that thrive on engagement. You've likely seen the mock-up box art. It usually features the decayed Master Sword or Rauru’s glowing hand.
Sometimes, these rumors get legs because of trademark filings. Nintendo frequently renews trademarks for "Hyrule Warriors," which makes sense—it’s a valuable IP. But a trademark renewal isn't a game announcement. It’s just corporate housekeeping.
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How to play Zelda content while you wait
If you’re itching for that large-scale war feeling, you've actually got plenty of real options. You don't need to chase phantom games.
- Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (Switch): This is the "everything and the kitchen sink" version. It doesn't care about the timeline. You can play as Midna, Linkle, Ganondorf, and even Tingle. It has hundreds of hours of content.
- Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: This is the closest you’ll get to the modern "Age of Imprisonment" vibe. The DLC (Expansion Pass) adds the Battle-Tested Guardian and more story beats that make the world feel fuller.
- Tears of the Kingdom (The War Scenes): Honestly, some of the late-game encounters in TotK feel like a Musou game. When you’re charging into the depths with your Sage avatars, the scale is massive.
The reality of the "Age of Imprisonment"
We have to be honest: calling a game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is currently factually incorrect. It is a fan-coined term for a game people want to exist, but as of right now, Nintendo has not announced a third entry in the Hyrule Warriors series.
Is it possible? Absolutely. Nintendo loves money, and the Warriors franchise is a great way to reuse assets from a major flagship game like Tears of the Kingdom. But until you see a trailer on an official Nintendo Direct, take every "leak" with a massive grain of salt.
The Zelda community is famous for its "theory crafting." Sometimes, a theory gets so popular—like the idea of a game covering the Imprisoning War—that people start talking about it as if it’s a tangible object sitting on a shelf. This is one of those cases.
What to look for next
If a real game in this vein is announced, it will likely drop during a transition period—perhaps for the "Switch 2" or whatever the next hardware iteration is called. Omega Force usually takes about 3 to 4 years between major Zelda projects. Since Age of Calamity dropped in late 2020, we are technically "due" for an announcement, but the development of Tears of the Kingdom was so long and complex that it likely pushed everything else back.
Keep an eye on official Koei Tecmo financial reports. They often mention "collaboration titles" with "key partners" (which usually means Nintendo) months before a game is actually revealed. That’s where the real news starts, not on a Reddit thread.
Next Steps for Zelda Fans
- Verify your sources: If you see a video titled "Age of Imprisonment Gameplay," check the channel. If it isn't Nintendo of America or IGN, it’s probably a mod or a fan project.
- Revisit Age of Calamity DLC: If you haven't played the "Pulse of the Ancients" or "Guardian of Remembrance" packs, you're missing the most "lore-heavy" parts of the existing Musou games.
- Master Tears of the Kingdom's combat: Use the "Monster Control Crew" side quests in TotK. These are large-scale battles that feel exactly like the "Age of Imprisonment" gameplay people are craving.
- Watch the credits: Check the staff lists on recent Omega Force games. If the "Zelda Team" inside Koei Tecmo has been quiet lately, it usually means they are working on something big.