The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the last mainline entry in the series. Since its release, fans have been wondering what is next for the legendary franchise, beyond, of course, the recent spin-offs and remake. While it certainly feels as if Nintendo is gearing up for a future of ports and remakes, at least for the time being, it also clearly has its attention focused on the next big game, the one to dethrone Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and flourish in a way remakes simply cannot.
Fortunately, among many discussions about the future of the Zelda franchise, Nintendo has officially teased the kind of experience fans can expect after Tears of the Kingdom. This wasn't merely a conversation about the next Zelda game, whatever that may be, but the next mainline title, the big-budget game that sees Nintendo throw everything at the wall and attempt to push the series forward, much in the same way it did with Breath of the Wild nearly a decade ago.
With new TotK projects still releasing today, it is no surprise that Nintendo hasn't quite moved on from the Wilds era or indeed announced the next mainline game. However, a recent interview with The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma revealed that the next mainline Legend of Zelda game won't be dictated by the same creatives who've been shepherding the series thus far. Rather, Aonuma stated that the next Zelda game will be created by the fresh-faced developers at Nintendo who've been helping with the production of Ocarina of Time's remake.
In a conversation with AFP after receiving the honor of being made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, Aonuma discussed how the Ocarina of Time remake only came into being as a result of new, "younger" developers coming into the fray and helping to "adapt the game in the best possible way" and "make it fun once you have the controls in your hands." It is this same young talent that Aonuma imagines pushing the series forward with the next mainline game.
He expressed that he is "very interested to see what the younger staff will imagine" and that he would offer his guidance so that the team can "think together" about what the future of the series will look like. Of course, that isn't a very definitive statement on what the next mainline Legend of Zelda game will be, but it is at least confirmation that Nintendo and Aonuma specifically are looking to the younger generation to direct the course of the franchise and push it to bold new heights.
It remains to be seen if the Zelda series will return to the Wilds era or whether it'll stick with the more traditional gameplay model that the Ocarina of Time remake is doing a great job of repopularizing. However, regardless of which direction this new younger generation of developers takes, it will likely be a long wait until we hear anything definitive about the series' future or, indeed, what the next game after Tears of the Kingdom will even look like.
