In a somewhat surprising move, considering the vast size of the game and the nature of the IP, Nintendo has confirmed an Expansion Pass for DLC in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; it'll be available from the game's launch on 3rd March on both Nintendo Switch and Wii U.

Priced at £17.99 / $19.99, it'll include two core updates for the Summer and later in the year, along with some additional treasure chests that'll drop into the opening area right away. Details are in the text and video below, in which Eiji Aonuma explains what's included and some reasoning behind the DLC.

Immediately upon pre-purchase or purchase of the Expansion Pass, three new Treasure Chests will appear in the game's Great Plateau area. One of these Treasure Chests will contain a shirt with a Nintendo Switch logo which Link can wear during his adventure, exclusive to the Expansion Pass. The other two Treasure Chests will deliver useful items. The first content pack is scheduled to launch this summer and will include the addition of a Cave of Trials challenge, a new hard mode and a new feature for the in-game map. The second content pack will launch in Holiday 2017, and adds new challenges that will let players enjoy a new dungeon and a new original story. The Expansion Pass will be available for both the Nintendo Switch and Wii U versions of the game and are identical. Content packs cannot be purchased individually.

We've seen DLC come to tentpole Nintendo franchises before, such as Super Mario, Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart, yet it is still rather surprising to see an expansion pack for a main-line Legend of Zelda title. It's also interesting that the content later in the year will include new Story content, very much following the DLC trends of modern RPG adventures.

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