While the duo discussed several projects throughout the interview, one of the most interesting details came from Iwamoto talking about wanting to work with Monolith Soft again in another game in the Zelda series. He praised the studio as being a “strong partner” when it comes to making games in the Zelda franchise, and went on to say that they should “use the know-how we’ve developed by working together” to make a new unique title in the series.

“Monolith Soft is a strong partner when it comes to developing Zelda games from scratch,” said Iwamoto. “And more and more I would like to see them taking on a central role in production. Going forward, let’s use the know-how we’ve developed by working together, and the strength of the whole Monolith Soft team, to create a unique title in the series together.”

While this by no means serves as definitive confirmation that the next mainline entry in The Legend of Zelda franchise will be developed by Monolith Soft, Nintendo and the developer are quite likely already working on something new for the series in the background.

Elsewhere in the interview, Fujita also discussed the role Monolith Soft had played in the development of Zelda games, and how it has evolved since its work on Skyward Sword.

“Monolith Soft now has a larger number of developers, and the way we’re involved has changed,” said Fujita. “With Skyward Sword, the main relationship was that Monolith Soft would create the data in accordance with the game design and specifications laid out by Nintendo, but with Breath of the Wild, we’re more likely to ‘think and create together.'”

While the studio had been working with Nintendo for quite some time with the latter owning 96 percent of the studio as of 2011, Nintendo became a 100 percent owner of Monolith Soft back in December 2024. While this didn’t really change much since Nintendo was already the majority stakeholder in the studio, Monolith Soft now being owned 100 percent by the company likely means that it has more access to the internal infrastructure and support system that had already been set up.

In June, Monolith Soft had revealed that it wasn’t just working on Xenoblade Chronicles and The Legend of Zelda games. It had also provided support in developing Nintendo Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World. While details were sparse, the studio confirmed that Nintendo contracted it to work on the kart racer’s open world and character designs.

The social media post by the studio is fairly sparse, simply announcing that Mario Kart World is out now. The post does, however, also mention that Monolith Soft was contracted by Nintendo to work on the kart racer’s open world and even some of its character designs. “Mario Kart World, for which Monolith Soft was contract to develop the fields and character designs, was released by Nintendo Co., Ltd,” wrote the studio (translation via X).

While Monolith Soft is known for its own line-up of open-world RPGs – the Xenoworld Chronicles games – the studio has previously also worked as a support studio to help Nintendo develop games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which was praised at the time for its open-world design and overall gameplay. More recently, along with released Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Monolith Soft has also helped other Nintendo studios work on games in the Pikmin, Animal Crossing, and Splatoon franchises.

After having worked with Nintendo for quite some time, back in December, Monolith Soft was officially acquired. While 4 percent of the company’s shares had previously remained with co-founders Hirohide Sugiura, Tetsuya Takahashi and Yasuyuki Honne, with Nintendo holding the rest of the shares, Nintendo has since officially acquired 100 percent of the studio’s shares.

While the open world of Mario Kart World might deserve praise, producer Kosuke Yabuki has recently revealed that the game’s developers don’t really like using the term “open-world game”. According to Yabuki, this comes down to the fact that the term is quite loosely defined.

“We, on the development team side, we don’t call this world an open world,” said Yabuki. “Because in our view we don’t feel that the term open world is clear in terms of its definition.” Yabuki also mentioned that Mario Kart World has a bigger world for players to explore. “We do have this expansive world, and we’ve placed therein the Mario Kart Circuit or the Bowser Castle, or the Choco Mountain, and tried to build a new Mario Kart,” he said.

When it comes to the sheer scope of the game’s world and the number of tracks that players can race through, Yabuki spoke about how the interconnected nature of the game’s roads meant that the developers had to pay special attention to overall game balance.

“In this installation of Mario Kart, all of the roads are interconnected so if you were to tweak a certain route to make it easier to run through, it would impact all the other roads and routes,” explained Yabuki. “So we were aware that they’re all interconnected and we would need to be mindful of the overall balance.”

Mario Kart World is out now as one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Unconnected from mainline Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy, Xenoblade Chronicles X sees the survivors of a destroyed Earth travelling to a distant planet in hopes of making a new home for humanity. Expect a massive open world, pilotable mechs in both traversal and combat, multiplayer content that lets up to 32 players play together, and unlike other Xenoblade titles, a fully customizable protagonist.

The Definitive Edition re-release touts visual and technical enhancements, new story content, location, music tracks (with original composer Hiroyuki Sawano returning), and even a couple of new party members.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition launches for the Nintendo Switch on March 20.

Upgraded Character Models

Like its predecessor, Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive completely overhauls the character models of all the major cast members. Graphics comparisons between the Wii U and Switch versions of the game reveal brand new clothing for characters, such as Elma’s new crimson leg plates replacing the low resolution metal ones from the original. Faces also look less plasticy here, with Definitive sharpening the eyes while adding dimensionality to the skin through lighting and contour. As expected, the Definitive edition enhances visuals for HD, improving general textures and lighting across the board.

Doesn’t Include Japan-only Content

In case there was any doubt, yes, the definitive edition includes all of the DLC that the original Japanese version added to international markets. However, it has been confirmed that the Japanese-only outfits as well as the  customization features for Cross are omitted from Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive.

New Story Elements

Eagle-eyed fans of the game may have noticed some never-before-seen cinematics from the trailers. It has been confirmed that, indeed, Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition features new story content seamlessly woven through the game. It’s likely these new bits of story tie up loose ends of Lau’s story following the events of Chapter 12. As a delightful bonus for audiophiles, additional music has been composed to accompany the new story elements.

Party Swap Feature

It was truly a pain to recruit squad members to your party in the original. You had to travel all the way over to NLS and individually search them out to add these characters to your party. This was a colossal pain considering the dozen and a half recruitable characters in the game. Definitive thankfully eliminates all that busywork with an Active Party menu which can swap party members in and out wherever you are in Mira. The remaster even lets non-active party members in reserve gain XP, which is something else the original didn’t have.

2 New Characters and 2 Additional Skells

What makes the party swap feature even better are the two new recruitable party members. The only thing we know about the new NeilNail character is they’re a Qluarian who may have built or owned the two Neilnail Skells (the controllable mechs) from the original game. Leisel is the other squadmate, a test pilot in charge of the “Hraesvelg” Skell. Speaking of, this Hraesvelg Skell will be included in Definitive as well as a new Ares-type Skell.

New Floating Continent Zone

Continuing the streak of new content is a fully-blown floating continent to explore. Just about nobody knows what this area is or what it signifies, and if someone does have an idea, be sure to let us know in the comments. From the trailer, it looks to have lots of fragmented spires, adding a decent amount of verticality and depth to exploration.

BLADE Level and Field Skill Levels Are Gone

Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive trims some of the ‘fat’ that tended to bloat out the original experience. Some of the bloat in question was BLADE level, a tiered rank that unlocked certain Missions as well as improving Field Skills. This additional leveling system has been axed to let players access basic Missions based on story progress and obtain field treasures immediately upon discovery.

New Quick Cooldown Meter

Waiting to use abilities is a core part of Xenoblade Chronicles X’s gameplay identity, and X Definitive smooths this process with a backup ‘Quick’ Cooldown meter. Arts still have specific cooldown times, but the Quick Cooldown meter allows players to bypass Art cooldowns as long as the meter is not depleted. No doubt this reserve cooldown bank will make aspects of fights easier, but if it makes for a smoother and more engaging combat experience, it may be worth it.

Mission Item Location Markers

Definitive Edition goes further with its convenience features with new dedicated item location markers. The ‘Follow Ball’ item performs this helpful deed by clearly marking mission-specific items right on the map for you to locate.  I have to say, the more I learn about the quality of life additions, the more I want to dig into the intimidating mammoth of an RPG that I missed with Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Massive Open World Featuring 5 Explorable Continents

And mammoth it truly is with its five gigantic open-world continents and the large multi-district city of New Los Angeles. Size doesn’t necessarily promise a better game, quite the opposite in some cases, but Xenoblade Chronicles X boasts a whopping 154 square miles (Breath of the Wild has 140); a vast area made even more exhilarating through the seamless Skell traversal. There are a multitude of different Skell units for sale around Mira, all with upgradable components and, get this, insurance, which is used for repairs. And the five continents are varied in their biomes and wildlife too, which is appropriate given the hunting and gathering aspect of the game.

Character Creator

Aiding in the game’s vast sense of scale and immersion is the ability to craft your own unique character. The Definitive edition doesn’t add any additional customization elements in this regard, so you’re stuck choosing between some predefined faces and hair templates without the ability to shape a face from scratch. Still, the various accessories, outfits, and general improvement of faces help spruce up the character customization.

Battle System

For the uninitiated, combat within the Xenoblade Chronicles X  typically revolves around actions (Arts) set to a cooldown timer. You attack enemies in real-time, but must manage Arts cooldowns and buffing/healing the party through the QTE Soul Voice system. It’s an interesting blend of MMO design and active-time battles, and with the convenience features that Definitive adds, it’s more accessible than ever.

Story

The plot in the game goes in some wild directions, but the basics are pretty simple. You escape a destroyed earth aboard a space vessel and wind up an amnesiac on the mysterious planet of Mira. Joining the human defense force, BLADE, while exploring the untapped mysteries of Mira becomes a big part of the game’s initial plot.

When the White Whale crashlands on Mira, you venture out as part of BLADE to assist and protect New Los Angeles. Whether it’s hunting dangerous monsters, rescuing citizens or detailing Mira’s expanses, there’s a lot to do. Combat should also be familiar to series’ fans, though it offers a new feature, Overdrive, for quickly using Arts off cooldown for 20 seconds.

You can also pilot Skells, mechs with their own unique abilities and functions dealing extensive damage. They also transform, making exploration that much easier.

Alongside the single-player story, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition offers online multiplayer where up to 32 players can partake in world missions to complete tasks. Four players can also squad up and take on challenging battles. If that wasn’t enough, there’s new post-story content with fresh threats to tackle.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition launches on March 20th for Nintendo Switch.

Much of the original’s story and gameplay carries over with humanity escaping the destruction of Earth aboard the USS White Whale. Crash-landing on Mira, they establish a colony and seek to rescue any survivors from the White Whale’s Lifeholds. While there are wild creatures to encounter, an alien species native to Mira also appears, resulting in conflict.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition offers new story elements, Skell mechs, and characters, but that’s not all. Those who purchase the game by April 6th via the eShop, My Nintendo Store or GameStop will receive the Exploration Support Pack. It provides 100,000 Credits, starting armor and weapons, six weapon augments and five armor augments. These can be collected from the BLADE Barracks’ Customization Center after Chapter 3.

That, however, no longer seems to be the case. Spotted by Automaton Media, an update to Monolith Soft’s website now confirms that 100 percent of the studio’s shares are now owned by Nintendo. Of course, functionally, this won’t make much difference, since Nintendo already had full control over the studio anyway, though on paper, Monolith Soft is now entirely in Nintendo’s ownership.

The studio’s next release is Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, which is due out for the Nintendo Switch in March. What Monolith Soft’s next big game will be is currently unknown, though with Nintendo’s next-gen console presumably launching in 2025, one would hope that the studio’s next title will be unveiled for it in the not-too-distant future.

Originally launched in 2015 for the Nintendo Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X is set in the future as a human ship, the White Whale, crashlands on the planet Mira. As a member of BLADE, players locate survivors and complete quests for the citizens of New Los Angeles. It’s easier said than done, especially with hostile lifeforms roaming the planet like the Tyrants.

Unlike the other Xenoblade Chronicles titles, you can create an avatar. There are different roles to take on, like the Pathfinder, who discovers new locations, or the Reclaimers, who explore the remnants of the White Whale for resources. You can also pilot mechs similar to those from Xenogears known as Skells, some capable of transforming into vehicles.

While Monolith Soft didn’t outline all the new features in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, it promises enhanced visuals and “new story elements.” Stay tuned for further updates in the coming months.

Monolith Soft has put up a new page on its website dedicated entirely to kicking off a major recruitment drive for its next project. Penned by director and Xenoblade mastermind Tetsuya Takahashi, a letter on the page reveals little about the project other than confirming that it is going to be another RPG and will present more challenges from a development perspective than any past Monolith Soft title.

Takahashi reveals he will once again direct the game, which, as per him, is going to be “more sophisticated” in the content that it will have on offer than the studio’s past games. Positions are open at Monolith Soft across a number of different disciplines.

What exactly it is that Monolith Soft is working on – whether it’s a new Xenoblade game or something else entirely – remains to be seen. It’s safe to assume, however, that whatever the game is is being made for the Switch’s upcoming successor and not the Switch itself, and as such might not be announced for a while yet.

Available in September 2023 for Nintendo Switch, Baiten Kaitos 1 and 2 HD Remaster collects the first two games in the series – Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean and Baten Kaitos Origins – into one package. The remastered visuals offer more detailed character models, new menu screens and support for 16:9 aspect ratio displays.

Of course, there are also several quality-of-life features, from Auto-Save and a Help menu for providing hints to new gameplay options like turning off encounters and increasing the game speed. You can also start a new playthrough in New Game Plus, carrying over all levels, Magnus and whatnot, or opt for New Game-, which restricts your level and offers a more challenging experience.