Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi, producer and director respectively of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, have shed some light on the future of the series in interviews with Game Informer and IGN.

Aonuma suggested that the next game in the series would not be a direct continuation of Tears of the Kingdom, stating that “with Tears of the Kingdom, we were seeking to build on top of the world we created with Breath of the Wild and really exhaust the possibilities of what we could put into that world,” when asked about the possibility by Game Informer.

“I think it is – to use a bit of a term – an apotheosis, or the final form of that version of The Legend of Zelda. In that regard, I don’t think that we’ll be making a direct sequel to a world such as that that we’ve created,” he continued. Fujibayashi shared the sentiment when asked about the return of Ultrahand earlier in the interview.

“Every time we’re making a Zelda title, we want to create something new,” he stated. “If, for example, there was any continuation of Tears of the Kingdom and we were to bring in, say, Ultrahand, then I think to us, it would feel like, ‘Well, we’re just bringing in Tears of the Kingdom as is.'”

Aonuma added to this, saying that it is part of the reason that there is no DLC planned for Tears of the Kingdom, as their process involved putting down all the ideas they had and selecting which ones deserved to remain, and they felt they had delivered a complete experience.

The desire to do something new is carried over to their interview with IGN, in which they discuss the potential for a larger role for Zelda in future titles. Many fans speculated that the character would be playable in Tears of the Kingdom after the teaser revealed her new, shorter hairstyle. While her role was expanded, with her own story that runs parallel to Link’s, there is no option to take control of her in the game.

When asked if there was a possibility of a playable Zelda going forward, Aonuma responded: “Link has been the main character, and Zelda has always been involved, and they have a relationship and their own rules in each of the games. But it is true that, I think there’s always room for thinking about this type of thing and Zelda’s role. And there may be some sort of possibility for something like that in the future.”

It’s not a hard confirmation – they did not give a lot of those, as they would not confirm where the game sits in the timeline or whether or not Link and Zelda were in a romantic relationship, deciding it should be left up to the player. Still, it would appear as though we can expect something new in future installments, as Aonuma and Fujibayashi are ready to move to the next chapter.