Xenoblade Chronicles 3 studio Monolith Soft confirms that the company helped develop The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom alongside Nintendo. The beloved RPG developer worked on several elements of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to help create one of Nintendo's largest games to date for Nintendo Switch.
Following the release of Xenogears for the original PlayStation, game director Tetsuya Takahashi received help from Bandai Namco founder Masaya Nakamura to open studio Monolith Soft in 1999. After developing the Xenosaga series for Bandai Namco, Monolith Soft was purchased by Nintendo in 2007, and the company would begin work on the highly successful Xenoblade Chronicles franchise. After releasing various Xenoblade Chronicles titles during the current Switch generation, Monolith Soft launched the final DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and helped Nintendo finish development of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The official Monolith Soft Twitter account confirms that Nintendo contracted the RPG studio to help develop and release Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Specifically, Monolith Soft states that the studio was involved with game design, graphics design, and programming alongside Nintendo. Monolith Soft did not reveal its status as a support studio prior to the launch of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on May 12. This is likely due to the contractual agreement between Nintendo and Monolith Soft during development of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Monolith Soft shared similar duties while aiding Nintendo with development of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which released in March 2017 as a Nintendo Switch launch title. Additionally, Nintendo credits Monolith Soft for its development support in the highly successful releases of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2020 and Splatoon 3 in 2022.
Monolith Soft is a very talented studio that continues to flourish during the Nintendo Switch generation. Monolith Soft's success allowed it to expand with new studio locations across Japan in recent years. As a result, Monolith Soft may aid Nintendo with a substantial amount of support while developing its own projects. For example, Monolith Soft was able to develop Xenoblade Chronicles 3 while lending support for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Before starting their first playthrough, players may install a day one update for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that addresses minor issues and bugs. Nintendo will likely release more updates soon, so fans may want to follow the company on official channels in order to receive notices about Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.