When The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom dropped earlier this year, it left fans and critics alike slack jawed with its expansive sky, surface, and subterranean realms. The game emerged as a crown jewel in Nintendo's lineup, racking up 18 million copies in sales in just two months, and was even heralded as a Game of the Year contender.
With such numbers, it wouldn't be irrational to expect a DLC or two, a path Nintendo took with its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, which received two significant expansion packs. However, in a recent Famitsu interview, the long-time Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma and game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi have poured cold water on these expectations.
Aonuma told Famitsu that he's "done everything" there is to do in this incarnation of Hyrule, a vast world built atop and beneath the original "Breath of the Wild" landscape. Notably, he and Fujibayashi orchestrated a vast underground realm that they had initially kept under wraps before the game's release. They took massive steps to the ensure players could move seamlessly between the sky islands and the labyrinthine underworld - a feature that was concealed in pre-release promotions.
The numbers suggest that an expansion for Tears of the Kingdom could practically print money; there's likely another billion dollars just waiting to be siphoned off from an ardent fanbase. Yet, Nintendo remains resolute in its decision. "I feel like we've done everything we can to create fun in that world," Aonuma clarified. Fujibayashi echoed the sentiment, revealing he's already turning his creative juices toward "the next fun experience."
