Hey, listen. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is almost here, but even though it’s not out yet, it’s already time to start thinking about potential DLC. Nintendo might’ve already revealed that Tears of the Kingdom will get post-launch support, which isn’t necessarily surprising, but nonetheless heartening, especially since Breath of the Wild’s extra content was so great.
Nintendo has yet to officially announce any additional content for Tears of the Kingdom, but given the company’s history with its first-party games, it certainly makes sense that the upcoming Zelda game will include some sort of DLC.
On the Tears of the Kingdom official site, which features details about the upcoming game, a curious line of text at the bottom seems to confirm DLC.
It reads:
**Full version of game required to use DLC. Sold separately.
The site doesn’t mention DLC anywhere else. It’s possible this is just generic boilerplate that Nintendo uses for many of its games. If the game does include DLC, it’s likely Nintendo will announce it either during a dedicated Tears of the Kingdom Direct ahead of the game’s release, or maybe even post-release to drive continued interest.
Breath of the Wild’s DLC is a fan favorite, featuring two add-ons: The Master Trials and The Champions’ Ballad.
Given the success of Breath of the Wild’s DLC, it’s possible Tears of the Kingdom will incorporate a similar structure, with an Expansion Pass that gives access to multiple add-ons that release over time. Breath of the Wild’s DLC expansion cost $20 and featured two major pieces of content, including The Master Trials and The Champions’ Ballad.
With Breath of the Wild, Nintendo revealed its DLC Expansion Pass in the summer of 2017, just a few months after the game’s March 3 release. The first add-on, The Master Trials, launched in late June, while the second part, The Champions’ Ballad, came out in December 2017.
It’s possible Nintendo will hold off on announcing Tears of the Kingdom DLC plans until August or September 2023. That means we could get our first batch of bonus content before the year’s end, with more to come in 2024.
Tears of the Kingdom will launch for Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.
