Does The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Set Up A Sequel?

Warning – Spoilers for the ending of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom ahead!

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the rare sequels in its series, acting as a continuation of 2017’s Breath of the Wild. Now that the narrative floodgate has been opened, does that mean that Tears of the Kingdom will have a sequel, or does the story of the Champion of Hyrule come to a conclusive end?

Tears of the Kingdom is set at the end of The Legend of Zelda series’ timeline, with all of the previous eras eventually leading to Hyrule’s ruin at the hands of Ganondorf. This means there is scope to continue the story without conflicting with any planned future events. However, The Legend of Zelda series rarely worries about enforcing a strict timeline, so it wouldn’t stop the developers even if there were contradictions.

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Does The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Set Up A Third Game?

Tears of the Kingdom has several ending set pieces: Link and Ganondorf cross blades, then Link and Princess Zelda work together to defeat Ganondorf, followed by one final visit to the Sky Islands with the Sages. Notably, Tears of the Kingdom does not end with a sequel hook, nor does it set up any follow-up story! The game ends with peace restored to Hyrule, and Zelda is joined by a new generation of Sages alongside a revitalized Link.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be a third entry in the Breath of the Wild trilogy because Breath of the Wild didn’t hint at a sequel in its ending either, which is why it came as such a shock when Tears of the Kingdom was first announced. Considering the incredible financial success of Tears of the Kingdom at launch, it would be easy for Nintendo to revive Ganon again for a third entry, for a new villain to take up his cause, or for a returning antagonist from another entry in The Legend of Zelda franchise to become the new enemy, such as a revived Vaati.

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Ultimately, it’s up to Nintendo whether Tears of the Kingdom will receive a sequel, as the company might decide to move on to something new, especially with the Switch having been around for so long. A game’s financial success doesn’t necessarily determine whether it will receive paid content or sequels, as Super Mario Odyssey has proven. However, there is still scope for another Legend of Zelda game in Tears of the Kingdom’s Hyrule, even if another story hasn’t been set up.