Google has turned its search page back to its 1998 look to celebrate the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake, and the throwback is hiding in plain sight. Type Google Ocarina of Time into the search bar and the results page loads with a surprise. Link’s sword sits in the bottom-right corner. Click it, and the page changes into the style of the 1998 Google search page.

The switch is the kind of small, playful detail that makes people stop scrolling. Google is known to change its search engine’s appearance on famous internationally recognized days, reshaping the page to fit the theme. Full overhauls of the entire page, though, are rare. The company usually saves them for special occasions, which is why a 1998 throwback tied to a video game stands out.

A Throwback to the First Release

The 1998-style page is a tribute to the first release of Ocarina of Time. The original game came out in 1998, and the search page is built to carry players back to that era. You do not need to download anything or sign up for anything. The whole trick happens inside a normal Google search, which makes it easy to share with friends who grew up with the game.

Search trends around the original title are the main reason this matters now. The old game is still widely claimed as one of the top three games of all time, and the buzz around its remake has been building for months. That is exactly the kind of moment Google tends to lean into. The company has used similar tricks before. During the World Cup, searching for Erling Haaland would show a group of Norwegian players doing the Viking Clap celebration on screen.

Google’s Haaland moment was a brief animation tied to a sporting event. The Zelda tribute is different because the entire page changes, not just a corner of it. The change asks users to interact with it. Clicking the sword is the reward, and that small act of play is what turns a routine search into a moment people want to show off.

Why the Remake Is Such a Big Deal

The remake is the reason the easter egg exists in the first place. Google’s tribute reflects how much anticipation surrounds the release. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake will be released on November 5. Fans are being urged to pre-order the game before launch day, and the hype around it is clearly building fast.

The old game is still widely claimed as one of the top three games of all time, so the expectations and nostalgia are sky-high.

That mix of expectation and nostalgia is what makes the remake such a big moment for many players. Fans who first played the original in 1998 now have a chance to revisit the story with new versions of the game. Newer players, meanwhile, get to see why the original earned such a reputation. The search trick works as a bridge between those two groups.

The timing is tough, though. The remake will have to share the month of November with another huge release, GTA 6. Both games are set to dominate the end of 2026, and they are likely to compete against each other for The Game Awards. That competition is part of what makes this year feel so packed for gamers.

A Crowded Year for Games

The race for game of the year is already crowded. This year has been packed with standout releases, including Resident Evil Requiem, Pragmata, Onimusha, Control Resonant, and many more. The source behind this story points out that with such a stacked year, the award could go to anyone. That uncertainty is part of the fun. Nobody can call the winner yet, and every big release gets a fresh shot at the spotlight.

Against that backdrop of big releases, Google’s small tribute stands out for a simple reason. It rewards curiosity. People who type a game title into a search bar are often just looking for a trailer or a release date. Instead, they get a little piece of gaming history and a reason to linger on the page.

For readers who want to try it, the steps are short. Open Google, search for Ocarina of Time, and look at the bottom-right corner of the results page. Link’s sword is waiting there. Click it, and the page shifts into its 1998 form. The change lasts as long as you keep the page open in that style, so you can show it to friends or take a screenshot before moving on.

The easter egg also shows how a search engine can add some personality without changing what people use it for. Google keeps the familiar search box and results. The only difference is the look and the playful reveal. That balance is hard to get right, and this one lands because it is simple and fun.

The bigger question is whether the remake lives up to the hype. Early excitement can be fragile, and a 1998 classic has a lot to live up to. Still, the signs are clear. A search engine is changing its own page to celebrate a game release, and fans are pre-ordering in large numbers. That kind of attention is rare for any title, let alone one that first came out almost three decades ago.

So what do you think? Are you excited for The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time remake, and did you find the 1998 search page yet? Tell us in the comments section below.