Nintendo Reportedly Canceled A Ubisoft-Developed Zelda Game Starring Ganondorf
Overview & Key Takeaways
Zelda fans have had no shortage of new games to play in recent years, but it appears that one game--starring the franchise's iconic villain--was also in the works at one point. Rather than having Nintendo internally develop the game, however, the project was in the works at Ubisoft.
In a September 24 report, Insider Gaming says that Ubisoft Milan was working on a Zelda spin-off with the internal name "Goliath," which was set to star a new protagonist. During the early period of development, this was changed to have longtime big bad Ganondorf be the playable character. Outside of the Super Smash Bros. series, this would be a first and would presumably be quite different from other Zelda games.
However, the report says that Nintendo "rejected the prototype" back in late 2023, and the team--including Davide Soliani, who directed the Mario + Rabbids games--opted to leave Ubisoft and form their own studio, Day 4 Night, which is currently developing Bradley the Badger. This occurred despite Ubisoft's attempts to pitch Nintendo on a different IP in its place, with both Star Fox and Mario mentioned, but it wasn't meant to be.
It isn't the first time a Zelda spin-off has been canceled, apparently, with Retro Studios' Sheik-focused Project X reportedly getting canned during the Wii's lifespan.
We won't have to wait too much longer to play the next game in the Zelda series, of course. The Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time is out on November 5, giving a whole new generation the chance to play what many consider to be the greatest game in the entire series, and possibly of all time.
Zelda fans have had no shortage of new games to play in recent years, but it appears that one game–starring the franchise’s iconic villain–was also in the works at one point. Rather than having Nintendo internally develop the game, however, the project was in the works at Ubisoft.
In a September 24 report, Insider Gaming says that Ubisoft Milan was working on a Zelda spin-off with the internal name “Goliath,” which was set to star a new protagonist. During the early period of development, this was changed to have longtime big bad Ganondorf be the playable character. Outside of the Super Smash Bros. series, this would be a first and would presumably be quite different from other Zelda games.
However, the report says that Nintendo “rejected the prototype” back in late 2023, and the team–including Davide Soliani, who directed the Mario + Rabbids games–opted to leave Ubisoft and form their own studio, Day 4 Night, which is currently developing Bradley the Badger. This occurred despite Ubisoft’s attempts to pitch Nintendo on a different IP in its place, with both Star Fox and Mario mentioned, but it wasn’t meant to be.
It isn’t the first time a Zelda spin-off has been canceled, apparently, with Retro Studios’ Sheik-focused Project X reportedly getting canned during the Wii’s lifespan.
We won’t have to wait too much longer to play the next game in the Zelda series, of course. The Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time is out on November 5, giving a whole new generation the chance to play what many consider to be the greatest game in the entire series, and possibly of all time.
