Downloadable content is invading Hyrule. Today Nintendo revealed that the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be getting a series of paid downloadable add-ons, a first for a mainline Zelda game.
Starting March 3rd — the same day Breath of the Wild launches — you’ll be able to purchase an “expansion pass” for $19.99 in both the Switch and Wii U versions of the game. While this will get you a few small extras on launch day, the real meat comes from two DLC packs that will be available later in the year. The first, which is coming this summer, will feature a new cave to explore, a harder difficulty level, and new map features. The second is coming sometime during the holiday 2017 window, and will include a new dungeon and what Nintendo describes as a “new original story” to play through. Nintendo notes that the two packs “cannot be purchased individually.”
“With this additional content, we’d like to give even seasoned Hyrule explorers something new and fun,” says Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma. While this is new territory for a major Zelda release, it’s far from the first time Nintendo has experimented with DLC. Most notably, the company released a series of new paid characters, courses, and vehicles for Mario Kart 8 on Wii U — including a motorcycle-riding version of Zelda’s own Link.