Zelda Breath of the Wild is the first entry in the series that is getting a direct sequel set in the same Hyrule as its predecessor. According to series' producer Eiji Aonuma, there is a good reason for this.

　　Speaking with Kotaku, the Zelda series producer revealed that the Zelda Breath of the Wild sequel is being developed as the team had too many ideas for DLC, and the bigger changes couldn't have been implemented easily to the original game through them.

　　Schreier: What made you and the team decide to make a sequel to Breath of the Wild as opposed to a new Zelda game?

　　Aonuma: When we released the DLC for Breath of the Wild, we realized that this is a great way to add more elements to the same world. But when it comes down to technical things, DLC is pretty much data—you’re adding data to a preexisting title. And so when we wanted to add bigger changes, DLC is not enough, and that’s why we thought maybe a sequel would be a good fit.

　　Schreier: Was this sequel originally planned as DLC?

　　Aonuma: Initially we were thinking of just DLC ideas, but then we had a lot of ideas and we said, “This is too many ideas, let’s just make one new game and start from scratch.”

　　The Zelda Breath Of The Wild Sequel is currently in development for Nintendo Switch. A release date or window have yet to be confirmed