Ubisoft Milan denied Nintendo the spin-off project of Zelda featuring Ganondorf

• Ubisoft Milan developed a Zelda spin-off under the code name Goliath
• Nintendo rejected the project despite interest in collaboration
• After the rejection, the team was redistributed, with some moving to Beyond Good & Evil 2
• Creative director Davide Soliani created an independent studio Day 4 Night

In 2022, Ubisoft Milan released a tactical game In 2022, Ubisoft Milan released a tactical game. Sales were modest, but the game received positive reviews, which opened the way for further dialogue with Nintendo about joint projects.

The concept of Goliath

According to journalist Tom Henderson, by early 2023, creative director of Mario + Rabbids Davide Soliani and his team developed a project under the code name Goliath. Initially conceived as a spin-off of The Legend of Zelda with a new main character, the character was replaced during development with the well-known villain Ganondorf, making the game truly ambitious. The creators believed that the success of the project would allow Ubisoft Milan to become one of the flagship studios of the company.

At the end of 2023, the prototype was presented to representatives of Nintendo. For unknown reasons, the console giant rejected the idea, not allowing the project to develop further. Internal sources at Ubisoft note that after the rejection, the studio offered Nintendo other collaborative projects, including ideas for the Star Fox and Mario franchises, but the negotiations did not lead to agreements.

After the 'death' of Goliath, employees of the Milan branch were redistributed among other Ubisoft teams. Some developers joined the long-awaited Beyond Good & Evil 2, where work on the open world continues.

In the summer of 2024, Davide Soliani, along with a group of like-minded individuals, left Ubisoft. A few months later, he and the lead designer of the first part, Red Dead Redemption Christian Cantamessa, created the independent studio Day 4 Night. The team is currently developing a humorous adventure Bradley the Badger, where the player controls a badger traveling through unfinished game worlds and changing them in real time. The game will be available on Steam, with the release date yet to be announced.

It is worth noting that Ubisoft's involvement in Zelda projects has traditionally been limited. In this case, even the well-known actress Debra, often mentioned in the context of Ubisoft, only participated in voicing the paired characters in Far Cry Primal и Far Cry New Dawn.

Nintendo's refusal of the Goliath project underscores the company's cautious approach to using its key brands. Replacing the hero with Ganondorf could raise concerns that the game would be perceived as a deviation from the traditional image of the series, where the villain usually remains the antagonist rather than the main character.

Source: StopGame