Nintendo is reportedly developing a Zelda smartphone game

Nintendo and Japanese mobile game company DeNA are developing a game based on the The Legend of Zelda series for smartphones, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The Kyoto-based Nintendo hasn’t commented yet. The WSJ report cites “people familiar with the matter,” noting that the previously announced Animal Crossing game for smartphones will debut in the second half of 2017, with The Legend of Zelda following that.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.