--- description: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild producer thinks the fact that there was speculation about Link's gender validates the game’s design title: Why Link Is Male in 'Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3624ce91fb127b18/698897b6196cf43a5203c01f/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-4-e1486997071490.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Next Link May Not Be a Girl, But He’s Androgynous by Design by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2016 3:14 PM CUT  Nintendo by [Matt Peckham](/author/matt-peckham/) ## Matt Peckham Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 15, 2016 3:14 PM CUT When early images of Nintendo’s _The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild_ [circulated a few years ago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwaQDCKqPZ8 "undefined"), [fans speculated](http://kotaku.com/some-people-think-link-might-be-a-girl-in-the-new-zelda-1589374151 "undefined") that it’s traditionally male lead might by a woman this time—or at least playable as either gender. But the game’s official unveiling at E3 this week quashed that theory, [disappointing some](http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1233515 "undefined"). I asked [_Zelda_ producer Eiji Aonuma](http://time.com/4369527/zelda-breath-wild-open-world/ "undefined") about his design rationale for the character in light of the rumors. Here’s what he told me: --- > “” --- Aonuma continued: --- > “” --- Last year, Nintendo unveiled a new [character called Linkle](http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/12/9725908/nintendo-linkle-female-link-zelda-hyrule-warriors-legends "undefined"), clearly a more explicitly female version of Link. She was an exclusive character for the 3DS game Hyrule Warriors Legends, which came out earlier this year. In a longer interview with Aonuma, he [describes the approach](http://time.com/4369527/zelda-breath-wild-open-world/ "undefined") Nintendo took to creating the new title’s vast open world, a departure for the series. --- ### More from TIME --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4369537/female-link-zelda/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4369537/female-link-zelda/"},"headline":"Next Link May Not Be a Girl, But He’s Androgynous by Design","datePublished":"2016-06-15T15:14:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:07.711Z","description":"The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild producer thinks the fact that there was speculation about Link's gender validates the game's design","url":"https://time.com/4369537/female-link-zelda/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","Nintendo","Interviews","Wii U","zelda"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3624ce91fb127b18/698897b6196cf43a5203c01f/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-4-e1486997071490.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Peckham","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-peckham/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3624ce91fb127b18/698897b6196cf43a5203c01f/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-4-e1486997071490.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"zelda-breath-of-the-wild-4","caption":"","creditText":"Nintendo","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4369537/female-link-zelda/","name":"Next Link May Not Be a Girl, But He’s Androgynous by Design"}}]}] ```