Nintendo Moves on to Brand New The Legend of Zelda Game, Rules Out Tears of the Kingdom DLC [IGN]

Nintendo has said it has no plans to release DLC for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and is moving on to a brand new game in the series.

In an interview with Famitsu, Eiji Aonuma, producer of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, ruled out additional content for the Nintendo Switch exclusive.

“There are no plans to release additional content this time, but that’s because I feel like we’ve done everything we can to create fun in that world,” Aonuma said.

It’s a surprising decision considering the enormous success Tears of the Kingdom has enjoyed critically and commercially. It sold 18.51 million units as of June 30, just a month-and-a-half after it came out. That’s more than half the total sales of its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, which has shifted 30.65 million.

It’s also surprising given Breath of the Wild did receive DLC in the form of an expansion pass that added the likes of Master Mode, Hero’s Path Mode, trials, and new items. IGN has contacted Nintendo for clarification.

Based on comments in the Famitsu interview, it sounds like Nintendo is now thinking about the next Zelda game instead of Tears of the Kingdom DLC. However, Aonuma did not rule out a return to the Hyrule of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, potentially setting up a third game.

“In the first place, the reason I decided to make this a sequel to the previous work was because I thought there was value in experiencing a new game in that Hyrule place,” Aonuma said. “If that’s the case, if a new reason arises, we might return to the same world again. Whether it’s a sequel or a new work, I think it’s going to be a completely new game, so I hope you’re looking forward to it.”

Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi also chimed in with his own comment: “We are very grateful that so many customers have been playing Tears of the Kingdom for so long and deeply, so we will do our best to make the next game even more enjoyable.”

IGN’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review awarded the game a 10/10 and declared it a masterpiece. “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an unfathomable follow-up, expanding a world that already felt full beyond expectation and raising the bar ever higher into the clouds,” we said.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.