The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom releases in mere hours. Yes, that's right--the wait for the sequel to one of the best games of all time is almost over, and it turns out that Tears of the Kingdom might be even better. Because of that, you probably want to know the exact time you can play, and we have the answer. Since preloading is available now, you can play the second it releases. Nintendo confirmed to GameSpot that the game will launch on May 11 at 9 PM PT, which is May 12 at 12 AM ET.

This falls in line with Nintendo's typical launches. A listing on Nintendo's website states that digital software also sold physically for Switch will "usually" be available starting at 9 PM PT the night before the official release date.

GameRant first reported on this.

Preloading is available now for those who preordered the game digitally. Tears of the Kingdom is a beefy game, at 16GB, so it'll be nice to be able to preload.

Tears of the Kingdom has already found its way into the hands of some people, so be mindful of spoilers for the next week or so. Also watch out, because if you got an early copy, former Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime is hunting you down.

Expectations are high for Tears of the Kingdom, both in terms of quality and commercial success. After all, Breath of the Wild was critically adored and has sold more than 29 million units, so the sequel has very large shoes to fill.