Highlights
- Nintendo recently confirmed that there will be no DLC for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, disappointing fans who were hoping for more content.
- Breath of the Wild set a new standard for the franchise with its DLC packs, and fans expected a similar approach for Tears of the Kingdom.
- While the game is complete in its current form, some fans still feel a sense of missed opportunity, as there are many mysteries and aspects of the game that could have been explored in DLC packs.
The Nintendo Switch is in its twilight years, with rumors ramping up about an eventual successor later next year. The console has had an excellent run since its launch in early 2017, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has served as a solid swan song for the platform before it rides off into the sunset.
The game has been a huge critical and commercial success, with Game of the Year buzz already running rampant months ahead of The Game Awards 2023. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a massive game as it is, with even the most focused of playthroughs taking dozens upon dozens of hours to complete. For this reason, DLC was never strictly needed but would have been a welcome bonus similar to how its was implemented for Breath of the Wild. Unfortunately, a new statement from Nintendo shatters that expectation entirely.
Breath of the Wild's DLC Packs
Shifting The Legend of Zelda into an open world format, Breath of the Wild captured the gaming landscape by storm and helped kick off the Switch's life cycle with a bang. The game was already the complete package, with an immense world to explore and tons of things to discover. However, as an added treat, Nintendo developed two separate DLC packs for the game, giving gamers who just couldn't get enough of this new Hyrule even more content to dive into.
Prior games in the franchise hadn't experienced this, with Breath of the Wild marking the first instance of a game in The Legend of Zelda series receiving post launch support. This included a new quest, added difficulty modes and even a motorcycle for Link to storm across the world with. This new business practice from Nintendo made for an exciting prospect, as it opened doors for more content to be added to future Zelda games.
Tears of the Kingdom's Lack of DLC Support
Tears of the Kingdom is a massive game on its own, with multiple locations to explore and countless side quests to complete. If this was the only title a player purchased for the entire year, it would be money well spent for the amount of things packed into it. That being said, due to Breath of the Wild having DLC content tied to it, fans may have gone into its sequel with the expectation that more was to come at some point in the future.
To the dismay of fans, Nintendo recently confirmed that it has no plans for DLC to be added to Tears of the Kingdom in the future, and is instead moving on to the next project in the franchise. Nintendo apparently felt that Tears of the Kingdom was complete in its current form, which in many ways is true, but there is still the sense of a missed opportunity here. There are still so many mysteries surrounding aspects of the game such as the origin of the Zonai that could have been explored in DLC packs.
Breath of the Wild having DLC seemed to set up a new standard for future games in the franchise, especially in a gaming landscape where post game content is so common. It seemed like Nintendo was attempting to keep up with the times, but the company is notoriously unpredictable, and Tears of the Kingdom having no DLC to speak of is evidence of that. Fans are largely satisfied with the game as it is, but it is a shame to not have just a little bit more to chew on in this incredible interactive world.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for the Nintendo Switch.
