Nintendo turned down Ubisoft's Ganondorf Zelda pitch
The Mario + Rabbids studio reportedly pitched a Zelda game with a new protagonist before talks with Nintendo stalled.
Ubisoft Milan, the studio that made both Mario + Rabbids games, reportedly spent time pitching a Legend of Zelda spin-off built around Ganondorf after Sparks of Hope shipped. Reporting on the project says the pitch went through several rounds and included a previously unseen protagonist before Nintendo decided against it.
Nintendo has loosened its grip on the odd spin-off before, letting outside teams handle Cadence of Hyrule and a run of Donkey Kong and Star Fox remakes, but a mainline-adjacent Zelda with its most famous villain in the lead was apparently a step too far. The story is based on unnamed sources, so it stays unconfirmed.
Tags
- nintendo
- business
- switch
- rumour
Sources
Where this story ran: 3 outlets on 25 September 2026. The summary above is written by GamersGuild; the links go to the original reports.