Bad news Zelda fans: Nintendo has no plans for Tears of the Kingdom DLC
Yes, that does mean you won't be able to have max hearts and stamina.
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Sorry to say, but if you were hoping that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom would get the DLC treatment, you're going to be quite disappointed.
Speaking in an interview with Famitsu (translations by IGN), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma was broached about the topic of DLC, where he confirmed that the immensely popular sequel would not be receiving any. "There are no plans to release additional content this time, but that's because I feel like we've done everything we can to create fun in that world,” Aonuma said. This might come as a bit of a surprise to some, considering the game has shifted close to 20 million units, almost a third of Breath of the Wild's lifetime sales.
It's also a surprise considering Breath of the Wild itself did receive a two part DLC in the form of The Master Trials and The Champion's Ballad. These two bouts of DLC added in some extra challenges, like an extra hard Master Mode, the Hero's Path map feature, Master Sword trials, new clothing, and more backstory for the game's Champions. Tears of the Kingdom itself was originally planned to be DLC, but the scope grew too large and eventually it was decided it would become a sequel instead.
Aonuma's comments did also seem to imply they're at the very least starting to plan the next game in the series, though he didn't completely rule out returning to the Hyrule established in Breath of the Wild. "In the first place, the reason I decided to make this a sequel to the previous work was because I thought there was value in experiencing a new game in that Hyrule place," the producer said. "If that's the case, if a new reason arises, we might return to the same world again. Whether it's a sequel or a new work, I think it's going to be a completely new game, so I hope you're looking forward to it."
If you ask me, that move sounds like a "never say never, but probably not," kind of situation, and I don't think they could easily justify a third game with the same map. It's a shame that there won't be any DLC, as the game is missing fan favourite character Kass, and more frustratingly, you can't have max hearts and stamina after beating all shrines. What's up with that Nintendo? At least add in a few more shrines, just for my sanity.