Tears of the Kingdom’s Focus on Freedom Was a Direct Reaction to Fans Messing With Breath of the Wild

If you posted gameplay or fanart – or really, anything at all – about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild over the past six years, congrats: you may have had a small hand in influencing its sequel.

In a long interview published by Nintendo, producer Eiji Aonuma, director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, and designer Satoru Takizawa talked about how the reaction to the previous game guided their approach to Tears of the Kingdom, and how it encouraged them to give players even more freedom.

When asked if they ever watch fan gameplay videos, Aonuma answered, “there was some talk about them among the development team.