Monolith Soft, Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda development partner, has discussed its work on recent series blockbusters such as Breath of the Wild — and confirmed plans for its role to expand on future games.
The new details, found on a freshly-launched Monolith Soft website that celebrates its Legend of Zelda development team, comes just days after a major leak claimed that Nintendo was prepping an Ocarina of Time remake for launch this Christmas.
While the website does not divulge the Zelda game that Monolith Soft is working on next, there’s fresh detail on how the company (which Nintendo now fully owns) collaborates with its owner’s internal Zelda team, and confirmation that it has taken on more development responsibility over time — with the partnership set to continue on future, unnamed projects.
Zelda fans have long known of Monolith Soft’s work on the Zelda series, beginning with Wii entry The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Famed for its work on the Xenoblade series, Monolith Soft was originally brought in by Nintendo simply to provide some more development muscle — beginning a partnership that has seemingly flourished over subsequent entries.
“Monolith Soft had a solid track record of development, and being part of the Nintendo Group, we felt we could openly discuss various things that we couldn’t tell companies outside the group, so we asked them to handle it,” Nintendo producer Daiki Iwamoto said. “However, it was the first time we had outsourced the design and planning for Zelda, so we were a mix of excited and anxious.”
“Monolith Soft joined the project just before the first footage of Breath of the Wild was released to the public,” Monolith Soft producer Yasuhiro Fujita noted. “The direction of the game design and art style had already been decided.”
After working together again on 3DS game Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Monolith Soft’s relationship grew deeper as Nintendo planned the ambitious Breath of the Wild. Following its success, the studio’s team then worked on Breath of the Wild’s DLC and its standalone sequel Tears of the Kingdom. Now, it’s clear that both Monolith Soft and Nintendo want to grow the partnership further, with the former taking on a more central role.
“The team is still in its developmental stages, and we feel like ‘we’re all building the game together, and also building the team together,'” Fujita said of Monolith Soft’s Zelda team. “We want to increase the opportunities for us to proactively suggest things like, ‘This is what I want to do,’ or ‘I think this would be good.’ I believe we have the relationships and production environment to do that.”
“We want Monolith Soft to take on more and more core roles as a strong partner in creating Zelda from the ground up,” Nintendo’s Iwamoto concurred. “Based on the know-how we’ve cultivated while working together so far, let’s further enhance the overall team strength at Monolith Soft and continue to create unique series titles together in the future.”
2026 marks the Zelda series’ 40th anniversary, something fans expect Nintendo to finally acknowledge later in the year with the announcement of that Ocarina of Time remake and a better look at the upcoming live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. While the next all-new Zelda game may still be some way off, an Ocarina of Time remake would certainly keep fans happy in the interim, while also providing a nostalgic hit to celebrate the franchise’s milestone birthday. Could Monolith Soft be taking on the project solo? That remains to be seen, but this interview certainly suggests the studio has established itself as a big part of Zelda going forward.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
