A Zelda fan updated the series timeline to include crucial events from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Although The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom takes place directly after Breath of the Wild, some of the game's most important events happen in a different time period.
After exploring the ancient Zonai ruins underneath Hyrule Castle, Link is separated from Zelda again, and the Hylian hero is incapacitated by the spreading Gloom. The Gloom caused Link's right arm and Master Sword to decay, but Rauru's power managed to save Link before further damage to his body could be done. Link proceeds to gain new abilities and regain his bearings on Great Sky Island in an extensive tutorial for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Rauru ensures Link is given the proper guidance in order to open the Temple of Time and dispel the clouds underneath the Great Sky Island. Once "The Closed Door" quest is complete, Link may free-fall down to Hyrule and start his long search for Zelda.
Zelda fan Milor64 recently updated a series timeline to include Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Zelda's trip back into the past. As shown in the timeline, Zelda is able to escape her demise by going back in time to the era where Rauru and Sonia ruled as the first king and queen of Hyrule in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The timeline then mentions the major events that were revealed in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's memories, which may be acquired by exploring Hyrule and progressing the Geoglyph main quest. Additionally, the timeline includes all the previous Zelda titles and compiles the events that happened after Ganondorf appeared in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom such as the fall of Hyrule's Champions.
Some fans believe the updated timeline is accurate, and other Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom players think Hyrule's royal family already knew Zelda would have to relive Rauru and Sonia's era. Moreover, a few Zelda fans believe Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom should have its own dedicated timeline due to the thousands of years that have seemingly passed in the official canon.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's placement in the Zelda timeline continues to fuel discussion in the community about its importance and accuracy, but the updated timeline still provides a general idea of where classic and modern Zelda titles took place. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is recognized as the first entry in the series timeline by fans, while Breath of the Wild is known as the start of the latest saga with Tears of the Kingdom as its sequel.
The Zelda timeline may grow if Nintendo introduces new Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom DLC. Nintendo has not officially announced DLC for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but some fans believe the announcement is only a matter of time since the game is highly successful, and datamines suggest new content may be on the way.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.