The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's official website has been updated with a new disclaimer at the bottom of the home page, which indicates purchasing the full version of the game will be "required to use DLC." This has already started speculations around a possible post-launch expansion for the sequel to Breath of the Wild.
Nintendo has not yet officially confirmed anything about the post-launch roadmap of the game. Also, the game does not have any higher-tier digital editions to guarantee free access to post-launch content. So, it remains unknown whether the disclaimer is just a human error or a brief tease about an upcoming DLC.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received two post-launch expansions in the same year that it was released on Nintendo Switch. So, if the developer follows a similar policy, it wouldn't be surprising to hear about the arrival of more content to the sequel sometime after its official release this year.
Tears of the Kingdom currently targets a release on May 12, 2023, and Nintendo recently shared a new gameplay trailer showcasing some new features and vehicles that players will get to use when playing as Link. That being said, fans still expect more details to be shared on the game, especially about the story of Tears of the Kingdom.
The sequel to Breath of the Wild will be the first Nintendo Switch game to be sold at a price of $69.99. It remains unknown whether we will see a price increase for the possible expansions or not. Nintendo confirmed earlier that it will price its first-party games on a case-by-case basis. So, Tears of the Kingdom is not the beginning of a permanent price raise.
Recently, Nintendo officially announced that it will not attend E3 2023, but Tears of the Kingdom is supposed to arrive earlier than the expo's date. The Japanese publisher used to showcase its upcoming titles every year during a digital conference on the final day of E3, but following Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo will also skip one of the most famous international gaming expos this year.