Zelda Producer Explains Motivation Behind Breath of The Wild Sequel
During E3, Nintendo announced they’re working on a sequel to Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild. The announcement took most people by surprise, as the series has established a reputation for not really doing direct sequels. It’s going to be set in the same version of Hyrule, and will feature the same art style. Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma revealed the reasoning behind this decision in a recent interview.
Speaking to Kotaku, Aonuma revealed the simple truth: they just had “too many ideas” for DLCs, and they decided to make a new game instead. It’s not just about the quantity of the ideas, mind you. He explained how DLC was great for adding small stuff to an existing world, but wouldn’t be a good choice for making bigger changes.
When we released the DLC for Breath of the Wild, we realized that this is a great way to add more elements to the same world. But when it comes down to technical things, DLC is pretty much data—you’re adding data to a preexisting title. And so when we wanted to add bigger changes, DLC is not enough, and that’s why we thought maybe a sequel would be a good fit.
Of course, he kept mum about what those new ideas and bigger changes were. It’s only natural, since the new Zelda is still a ways away. For now, we’ll have to make do with what we’ve gleaned from the teaser trailer. It’s not much, if you disregard the fact that Hyrule Castle can now fly. The trailer ended with the a title card telling us the sequel is “now in development”, so it’s obviously not going to come out any time soon, but since Breath of The Wild already laid the foundations, it’s safe to assume it won’t be another half-a-decade wait.
