Nintendo hints at DLC for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom looks to be receiving unannounced DLC, according to the game's official website. 

Over the past weekend, Reddit users picked up on a new disclaimer on the official website for Tears of the Kingdom. "Full version of game required to use DLC. Sold separately," the disclaimer reads, seemingly confirming post-launch DLC plans for the new Zelda game.

Considering Zelda's recent history though, this won't be a surprise to many. After Breath of the Wild launched in 2017, Nintendo rolled out two DLC expansions for the game, both included in the Expansion Pass, which was actually the first time any Nintendo game had received such a post-launch pass.

This was novel feature for Breath of the Wild, but it looks like DLC could be the standard for new Zelda games now. After The Master Trials introduced new combat gauntlets and The Champions' Ballad later debuted new story content, it's not a stretch to say we could get new story content for Tears of the Kingdom after launch.

"You have to be living in a deep cave if you think there won't be DLC for ToTK" writes one user over on Reddit, where the DLC footnote was discovered. Honestly, they're not wrong, considering both Zelda's recent track record with DLC, and the fact that Tears of the Kingdom is one of Nintendo's largest releases in quite some time, arguably since Animal Crossing: New Horizons back in 2020. 

Tears of the Kingdom already looks to have wacky new features like full-on cars and flying aircraft. Who's to say we couldn't get new weird methods of transportation for Hyrule further down the line?

Check out our upcoming Switch games guide for a look ahead at the coming year for Nintendo's console. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.