Amid continued frustration and confusion from fans about how much the Nintendo Switch 2 and its games are going to cost them (especially in the United States, where that seems to be perpetually in flux), we’ve just learned about yet another charge that may not have been obvious to everyone at first. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Nintendo Switch 2 edition doesn’t come with the Expansion Pass, meaning you’ll have to pay an additional $20 to play the DLC on the new system if you don’t already own it.
That might sound like a no-brainer, but let me explain. Since the announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2’s games and their pricing last week, there’s been no end to the confusion about how it’s all going to work. What we currently know is that if you already own The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch, you can play that same game on your Nintendo Switch 2, including with the DLC if you’ve already purchased it, no problem.
However, there’s also a Nintendo Switch 2 Enhanced Edition of Breath of the Wild. It comes with improved visuals and performance, achievements, as well as support for the new “Zelda Notes” service in the Nintendo Switch Online app. If you already own Breath of the Wild on the Switch, you won’t get those features automatically, but you can purchase an “upgrade pack” for $10 to get access to all that.
So that leaves folks who don’t own the game yet at all, but might want to purchase it on the Nintendo Switch 2. They can purchase a Nintendo Switch 2 Enhanced Edition of Breath of the Wild for $70, $10 more than the game initially retailed at (so basically the price of the original game and the pack). But it won’t include the DLC Expansion Pack, so if you want access to that, it’s another $20 on top of that. $90 total for the full Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2 experience.
This is according to a statement from Nintendo, who told IGN: “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition does not include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass DLC. That DLC is available as a separate purchase.”
You might argue that that’s only fair given that it’s effectively what existing owners of the game have already paid anyway, plus the cost of the upgrade. It’s not like there’s a mysterious upcharge happening here. But it’s worth pointing out that most other gaming publishers eventually get around to dropping the price on eight-year-old games, or offer “enhanced editions” for later systems that include the DLC bundled in to help ease the financial burden on players interested in jumping in. A whopping $90 for the most current version of a game that came out in 2017 on the Wii U feels painful, especially in light of Mario Kart World retailing at an unheard-of $80, and the Nintendo Switch 2 costing $450 or perhaps even more, depending on what Nintendo decides to do about the current tariff situation.
Maybe it won’t matter, and maybe everyone who is ever going to realistically play Breath of the Wild largely already owns at least a base version of the game given how well it’s already sold. But if you were waiting to pull the trigger on it (and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom) for a new, shinier system, you’ll have to keep the cost of Breath of the Wild’s very good Expansion Pass in mind.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
