The phrase "DLC" wasn't always part of Nintendo's vocabulary. Nowadays, it's just one more type of content that the Japanese video game titan has to offer. In fact, the very first thing revealed in Nintendo's long-awaited Nintendo Direct presentation was a new DLC for Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Pyra and Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles joining Smash is only the latest in a long list of Nintendo DLC expansions, but it wasn't the only one revealed recently. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's prequel spin-off Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is confirmed to be getting an expansion pass later this year.

It'll be a few months before fans of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity can get their hands on the game's extra content. However, Nintendo is trying to encourage players to invest as soon as possible. The Age of Calamity expansion pass is offering two brand new costumes for Link if players invest in it early. These new costumes won't be available until near the end of May, but that seems intentional. Link's teased costumes will whet players' appetites for the first stage of the expansion pass, which rolls out in June 2021 and comes packed with content.

RELATED: DLC Characters Who Would Make Interesting Additions to Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Arguably the most important part of the expansion pass is that it offers an expanded roster for Age of Calamity. Nintendo offers no specifics on who exactly will join the game to expand its roster of playable characters, but just the thought of more warriors joining Age of Calamity's ranks is exciting. On top of that, Wave 1 will add new weapon types to the game. The previous Hyrule Warriors games did this too, adding weapons like Ganondorf's Trident and Lana's Summoning Gate after the game's release. It's great to know that Nintendo wants to add this kind of content again; fans will surely be speculating about whose skill set Nintendo wants to broaden this time.

On top of these core additions to the game, Nintendo wants to give fans more to do with these new characters and weapons. Starting in Wave 1, the Royal Ancient Lab will offer players more challenges to complete. On top of that, the expansion pass will add new, supposedly challenging enemies to Age of Calamity. It's one thing to give players reason to replay missions to get use out of new weapons or a new character. It's another to actually give them new content to play through while also giving fans new playstyles. It's a great way to encourage fans to look into everything that the Age of Calamity expansion pass adds all at once.

RELATED: The Case for Hyrule Warriors to Get a Full Trilogy

Wave 1 of the pass sounds great, but Wave 2 might be even more exciting. It'll expand the roster even more, meaning there's lots of room for fan favorite characters that might not have made it into Age of Calamity than before. On top of that, Nintendo has plans to add new stages to the game. That's huge news; totally new missions will make replaying Age of Calamity even more worthwhile than new Ancient Lab tasks could offer. Most fans of the Breath of the Wild spin-off were expecting DLC characters, but it sounds like Nintendo is determined to give those new characters a fresh environment to fight in.

Wave 2's description also mentions new battle skills for characters that are already in Age of Calamity. While it's surprising that Nintendo would want to go back and rework characters already in the game, it sounds like any reworks will be focused on expanding the characters and adding more diversity to the gameplay. There's one more interesting part of Wave 2, and that's its promise to add more character vignettes to the game. This sounds like a sort of cherry on top of the whole DLC, adding more content for fans of Breath of the Wild's lore and character interactions.

This anticipated expansion pass is definitely a big deal. It's packed full of content, more than fans might have expected, and seems like a pretty good deal for $19.99. Wave 2 won't roll out until November 2021, but the first wave sounds like it'll set up well for the later pass. One has to wonder if this'll be the only pass for Age of Calamity, or if Nintendo is considering supporting the game long-term. So long as it doesn't get in the way of other Zelda projects, showing Hyrule Warriors lots of love sounds like a great idea so far.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is available now on Nintendo Switch.

MORE: Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 Will Likely Make a Move From Majora's Mask