Nintendo Reportedly Rejected a Ubisoft Zelda Spin-Off That Would Have Starred Ganondorf

September 25, 2026 Noah

According to an exclusive report from Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, published September 24, Ubisoft Milan, the studio behind the Mario + Rabbids games, spent much of 2023 developing a Legend of Zelda spin-off for Nintendo that was ultimately rejected. The project, internally codenamed “Goliath,” would have starred the series’ longtime antagonist Ganondorf as a playable protagonist. Neither Nintendo nor Ubisoft has commented on the report.

From an Unnamed Hero to Ganondorf

Per the report, the project originally centered on a different, unnamed protagonist before Nintendo asked the team to rebuild the pitch around Ganondorf instead, a role the report frames as a rare turn for the villain outside of Super Smash Bros. Led by Mario + Rabbids creative director Davide Soliani, the team “worked tirelessly on the new idea throughout the winter” heading into an early 2023 pitch to Nintendo, and was reportedly given until around the end of that year to deliver a convincing prototype.

Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom showing Link overlooking a warped Hyrule sky

Ganondorf, the reigning antagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, was reportedly set to headline his own Ubisoft-developed spin-off before Nintendo pulled the plug.

A Cancellation That Reshaped a Studio

Nintendo canceled the prototype in late November 2023, and the report notes the exact reasoning behind the decision remains unclear. Internal rumors at Ubisoft Milan reportedly floated other franchises, including Star Fox and another Mario game, as potential follow-up collaborations, but talks between the two companies broke down in the following months. Soliani left Ubisoft in mid-2024 after 25 years with the company, taking part of his team with him to found the independent studio Day 4 Night.

Day 4 Night unveiled its debut game, Bradley the Badger, an action-adventure starring a badger reshaping unfinished worlds with his own game-developer powers, at The Game Awards in December 2025. Focus Entertainment signed on to publish the game several months later.