Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Sparks Fan Excitement Amid Price and Pre-Order Speculations

When will Nintendo finally reveal details about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2026)? Are we really going to see that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake in 2028? And what’s the deal with Square Enix scrapping its Final Fantasy XIV mobile spinoff before it even launched in most regions? Morning Checkpoint is back, bringing you the latest in gaming news, rumors, and culture after a lengthy summer hiatus. At least we now know the source of the explosive chatter.

This edition is for July 17, 2026, and it’s coming to you amidst the haze of Canadian forest fire smoke that’s currently enveloping the Northeast. It’s been another eventful week in the tech world. Seriously, can someone think of the Meta Ray-Bans?

I took a break after heading to Los Angeles for Summer Game Fest in June and enjoyed the time off from daily updates so much that I ended up stepping away for about six weeks. Moving forward, I plan to shift Morning Checkpoint to a weekly format instead of daily. The structure will likely evolve to fit this new schedule. If you have suggestions on what you’d find most useful or interesting, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or reach out via email.

Now, let’s dive into the juicy details.

Recently, someone claimed to have spotted a pre-order date for the Ocarina of Time remake in a Google search result linked to a GameStop page. This was shared on the Zelda subreddit and quickly gained traction. The screenshot showed “08/04/2026 PRE-ORDER” in the SEO fields. While it seemed dubious, it wouldn’t be surprising if Nintendo made a broader announcement around that time. Update 2:00 p.m. ET: It turned out to be a system glitch.

No, GameStop didn’t leak the pre-order date or price for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

For some reason, Google is pulling the release date and pricing info for Beast of Reincarnation, which is set to launch on August 4th, with the standard edition priced at $59.99.

Prior to this, fans were also examining a placeholder listing on the PlayAsia store that listed a price of $60. There’s no solid evidence to suggest it was anything more than the retailer taking a guess at what the Ocarina of Time remake might cost once Nintendo makes that official.

Typically, fans wouldn’t pay much attention to store listings or pre-order dates, but the lack of concrete information about the new version of the game has left plenty of room for speculation. Will it be a full reimagining of the N64 classic, or just an HD remaster like the recent Star Fox remake? Anything less than an $80 price tag for a physical version would hint at the latter.

Earlier this week, the general manager of the Epic Games Store, Steve Allison, joined Saber Interactive as chief business officer and made headlines with a comment about the MIA KOTOR remake. “My job isn’t to squeeze money from Saber’s products through tactics like that,” he wrote in response to a fan on Reddit concerned about aggressive monetization.

Allison added, “We are preparing to do more self-publishing, and I’m here to organize the group for the lineup forming for 2028 (similar to when I joined Telltale in 2010, also no microtransactions). This lineup includes Space Marine, Wick, hopefully the KOTOR remake, and a few unannounced titles. Saber has never pursued microtransactions; that’s not how we operate.”

Saber previously confirmed that the game is still in development but hasn’t provided any further updates since taking over the troubled project years ago. The company has tried to temper expectations for a reveal anytime soon. “Steve was responding to a player primarily asking about plans for microtransactions in future titles, and he was speaking broadly, not officially, about Saber’s future slate, which he’s very excited about,” a Saber spokesperson stated.

In other news, the mobile version of Final Fantasy XIV is being cut short. “Due to adjustments in business operations and changes in the market environment, Tencent and Square Enix have amicably decided to terminate the licensing agreement for FINAL FANTASY XIV MOBILE (Chinese Edition),” the publisher announced. This means the global version won’t be released at all.

“To everyone who has been looking forward to the global version, we sincerely apologize for not meeting your expectations,” Square Enix wrote. The mobile port was first announced by MMO director Naoki Yoshida just two years ago.

Season 4 of the multiplayer shooter is set to launch on July 21, featuring naval warfare and a massive new map called Tsuru Reef. According to a new roadmap, a second phase of content arriving on August 18 will reintroduce an old Battlefield map called Wake Island, complete with aircraft carrier spawns and beach assaults. This will coincide with a Top Gun crossover event titled Top Gun: Carrier Strike.

The new mode is inspired by the Carrier Assault mode from Battlefield 4, which itself was based on the Titan mode from Battlefield 2142 back in 2006. Players will need to sink the opposing team’s aircraft carrier by completing match objectives. Developers have stated that the mode has been modernized for Battlefield 6.

A well-known figure in the gaming industry has been pitching a new horror game but hasn’t secured any funding yet. “This is an amazing industry with so many talented people,” he said in a video on LinkedIn this week. “I know times are tough right now, but the future is really bright. I wish the next generation of game makers the best of luck. Explore, experiment, enjoy. And remember, the most important thing is the idea.”

Despite estimated sales of around 5 to 7 million copies, his last game, the space horror action-adventure The Callisto Protocol, reportedly didn’t meet expectations for its publisher. The studio behind it, Striking Distance, faced significant layoffs but remains “operational,” whatever that entails.