Nintendo Reportedly Killed a Ubisoft Zelda Game Starring Ganondorf

Ganondorf, playable, in his own game, built by the studio that made Mario + Rabbids sing. Sit with that for a second, because it very nearly existed.

According to Insider Gaming, Ubisoft Milan spent time developing a Zelda spin-off codenamed Goliath, which started with an original protagonist before pivoting to put the King of Evil himself in the driver's seat. Outside of a Smash Bros. crossover, Ganondorf has never headlined anything, so a whole game built around him would have been a genuinely strange, exciting swing for this series. Director Davide Soliani, fresh off Mario + Rabbids, was reportedly steering the ship. This is the kind of pitch you dream about as a fan: the villain's game, made by people who clearly understood the toybox.

And then, per the report, Nintendo rejected the prototype in late 2023. Ubisoft apparently tried to save the relationship by offering up Star Fox or Mario instead, and Nintendo said no to that too. The team didn't stick around to pitch a fourth idea. They left and formed their own studio, Day 4 Night, now working on Bradley the Badger, which tells you plenty about how that Zoom call must have gone.

None of this is confirmed by Nintendo or Ubisoft, and Insider Gaming is the only outlet carrying the claim, so treat it as an unverified report rather than history. It also isn't the first Zelda spin-off to die quietly; Retro Studios reportedly had a Sheik-focused project shelved back on Wii.

Here is the sentence I won't soften: a company that guards its lore this tightly should stop being surprised when its most interesting ideas walk out the door and start their own studio instead. The next real Zelda game, at least, is safe. Ocarina of Time's Switch 2 remake arrives November 5, no committee required.