Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma isn't sold on another sequel

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma has suggested the current iteration of the franchise has reached its creative limit.

During an interview with Famitsu (translated by Japan-based streamer Genki_JPN), Aonuma said the studio has done all it can to "create play in that world," and explained there are no plans right now to release additional content for Tears of the Kingdom.

It's fascinating to hear Aonuma deflect the idea of more adventures in the current version of Hyrule, which debuted in Breath of the Wild and was revisited in Tears of the Kingdom.

The limits of (this) Hyrule

Tears of the Kingdom was a rather unique pitch for the franchise, serving a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild and evolving many of its systems to showcase a familiar world from a fresh perspective. The map itself was also repurposed, albeit with additional areas to explore such as a vast underground realm called The Depths and a myriad of sky islands.

Notably, Nintendo also released multiple DLC packs for Breath of the Wild, including The Master Trials—which introduced a something akin to a new game plus mode called Master Mode and arena combat in the form of Trials of the Sword—and an add-on called The Champions' Ballad containing new quests and dungeons.

Elaborating on Nintendo's plans for the franchise, Aonuma said the next title in the series, whether its a sequel or unrelated project, will usher in a "completely new way to play."

"The reason we decided to make a sequel to the previous game in the first place was because we thought it would be worth experiencing new ways to play in Hyrule. If such reasons arise then we may return to the same world," he said. "Whether it is a sequel or new work, I think it will be a completely new way to play, so I hope you will look forward to it."

Tears of the Kingdom has sold 18.5 million units since launching on May 12 and is currently the ninth best-selling Switch title of all-time.