A report from Insider Gaming has surfaced revealing that Ubisoft Milan was secretly developing an original The Legend of Zelda spinoff before Nintendo ultimately passed on the project. The studio, best known as co-developer of the Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle series, pitched Nintendo on a game titled “Goliath,” a name the developers said reflected the sheer scale of what they aimed to build. Nintendo initially greenlit the project but steered Ubisoft toward making the series’ villain, Ganondorf, the playable protagonist — a decision that ultimately led to the prototype’s rejection and the dissolution of the long-running partnership.
The story traces back to a collaboration between Ubisoft and Nintendo that flourished across the 2010s and early 2020s, producing the critically acclaimed 2017 crossover RPG Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and its 2022 sequel. According to the report, Ubisoft never intended the relationship to remain confined to that formula. Instead, the Milan studio sought to carve out its own identity within Nintendo’s beloved franchise by creating a Zelda spinoff centered on a previously unknown protagonist.
A Villain at the Center of a Hero’s Franchise
Insider Gaming detailed that Ubisoft Milan worked throughout the year on a prototype, but Nintendo rejected it in November. The reasons behind the decision remain unclear, and the report offered no specifics on what the prototype looked like or what type of game it would have been. The project’s naming choice was telling: “Goliath” was meant to convey the magnitude of the undertaking, signaling that Ubisoft Milan envisioned something far larger than a typical spinoff.
The creative pivot Nintendo requested was significant. The villainous Ganondorf is as essential to the Zelda series as Link and Zelda themselves, yet he has only ever been playable in spinoff titles like Hyrule Warriors and in the Super Smash Bros. games. By asking Ubisoft to make the dark sorcerer the player character, Nintendo effectively asked the studio to reframe a villain as a hero — a bold but, ultimately, unworkable direction that appears to have derailed the project.
Ubisoft Milan worked throughout the year on a prototype, but Nintendo rejected that prototype in November. “The reasons for [Nintendo’s] decision remain unclear,” Insider Gaming said. It’s also not clear what that prototype looked like or what type of game it would have been.
Insider Gaming
Once Nintendo put an end to the Ganondorf spinoff, Ubisoft Milan pivoted toward other Nintendo intellectual property. According to rumors, the studio explored developing another game starring Mario characters or a Star Fox title — a franchise Nintendo itself announced and released a new game for this year, following the character’s appearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
The Fallout and a Fractured Team
However, the relationship between the two companies began to fracture. “Conversations between Nintendo and Ubisoft began to break down” in late 2023 and into early 2024, though the report did not clarify exactly why those talks dissolved. The consequences were felt on the ground: Ubisoft Milan’s team was split up, with some developers even moving on to work on Beyond Good and Evil 2, which has recently shown surprising signs of life.
A contingent of the studio’s developers went on to form a new entity called Day 4 Night, which is currently developing the upcoming Bradley the Badger. The fragmentation of the team underscores how delicate the partnership had become, and how the cancellation of Goliath rippled outward into the broader Ubisoft Milan operation.
This is not the first time Nintendo has scrapped a Zelda spinoff. Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios once worked on a spinoff starring Sheik about the origins of the Master Sword, but it was described as “a hot mess” according to a developer on it. The pattern suggests that Nintendo remains cautious about expanding its flagship franchise beyond carefully controlled territory.
Looking Ahead
While Zelda fans will not be playing as Ganondorf in his own spinoff anytime soon, they will have plenty to celebrate by the end of the year. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a remake of the Nintendo 64 classic, is due out on Nintendo Switch 2 on Nov. 5. The release marks a significant milestone for the franchise and offers a fresh chapter for players eager to revisit one of the most influential games in gaming history.
As for the fate of Goliath and the fractured Ubisoft Milan team, the full story remains shrouded in uncertainty. The cancellation serves as a reminder of how tightly Nintendo guards its intellectual property, and how even the most ambitious collaborations can fall apart when creative visions collide.
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