Nintendo fan spent 10 years remaking Ocarina of Time. Nintendo’s announcement ended it.
The creator walked away on his own after Nintendo revealed an official remake. No cease-and-desist needed, which says everything about a company famous for hunting fan projects down.
A developer spent ten years rebuilding The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time from scratch in a modern game engine. Last week, he stopped. And Nintendo didn’t have to send a single lawyer to make it happen.
The fan creator known as CryZENx announced his decade-long passion project is “officially stopped.” The reason wasn’t a legal threat. It was that Nintendo finally announced its own remake, and he decided to step aside.
What he built
This wasn’t some quick cash-grab trailer. It was the real thing.
CryZENx, whose real name is Giuseppe Macula, started the project back in 2015. He rebuilt huge chunks of Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine, the same tech powering many of today’s biggest games. Over the years he recreated Kokiri Forest, Castle Town, Kakariko Village, the Temple of Time, and full dungeons, all with modern lighting and detail the 1998 original could never have dreamed of.
And he didn’t just post videos. He released playable demos, so fans could actually walk through his version of Hyrule themselves. For a lot of Zelda fans, it was the closest thing to a modern remake they’d ever gotten.
Why he stopped
Then, at its June 9 Direct, Nintendo announced the real thing.
The company revealed an official Ocarina of Time remake, “reborn” for the Switch 2 and due in 2026. And that was the end of CryZENx’s road, by his own choice.
In a post to his supporters, he was gracious about it. “Finally after 20 years we got a real remake with a high budget,” he wrote, thanking fans who followed him for a decade. He said he thinks he “made history” with his version, and that he didn’t “want to step Nintendo on their way,” trusting they’ll “do it this time the right way.”
No bitterness. No fight. He just closed the book.
The part that says a lot about Nintendo
Here’s what makes this more than a feel-good story.
Notice what didn’t happen: Nintendo never sent a cease-and-desist. CryZENx walked away before they ever had to. And the fact that fans are surprised by that tells you everything about Nintendo’s reputation.
Because Nintendo is famous, maybe infamous, for hunting down fan projects. The company has a long history of shutting down fan games, remakes, and tribute projects, often years into development. It has gone after fan remakes, blocked YouTube videos, and chased down ROM sites. Among Zelda fans, the running joke is that any good fan project is living on borrowed time until Nintendo’s lawyers notice.
So when a fan dev voluntarily shuts down a decade of work and says he doesn’t want to “step on” Nintendo, there’s a quiet truth underneath the politeness. The takedown was probably coming anyway. As one outlet put it, it’s honestly remarkable the project survived as long as it did without Nintendo’s lawyers showing up. CryZENx jumped before he could be pushed.
What’s next for him
The good news: he’s not done, and he’s not scared off.
CryZENx is already polling his tens of thousands of backers on what to remake next. The early leader is Twilight Princess, another Zelda game, with other classics like Metroid Prime Hunters, Donkey Kong 64, Diddy Kong Racing, and the cult favorite MDK also in the running.
A couple of those are still Nintendo properties, which means the same clock starts ticking all over again. But for now, the guy who spent ten years on one Zelda game is ready to start fresh. He got to finish his Ocarina story on his own terms, which, when you’re playing in Nintendo’s sandbox, is its own kind of win.
It’s a strangely fitting end. A fan loved a Nintendo game so much he rebuilt it by hand for a decade, then handed the torch back the moment Nintendo wanted it again. No lawsuit required. Just a fan who knew exactly when the song was over.
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Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
Hat Tips:
Dexerto (June 22, 2026), which covered the cancellation, verified for CryZENx ending the project after the June 9 Direct, the “step on Nintendo’s way” quote, and the next-project poll with Twilight Princess leading
Kotaku and Time Extension (June 2026), verified for CryZENx’s real name, the 2015 start date, the Unreal Engine 4-to-5 history, the no-cease-and-desist detail, and the observation that the project was lucky to last as long as it did
Vice and ScreenRant (June 2026), verified for the recreated locations, the playable demos, the “made history” quote, and Nintendo’s official Switch 2 remake due in 2026
Nintendo Direct (June 9, 2026), verified for the official Ocarina of Time remake reveal and the “reborn for Switch 2” framing