Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the game director of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, revealed what happened to the Ancient Sheikah technology that formerly populated the world of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Fujibayashi explained why the Sheikah technology is absent in Tears of the Kingdom. “They disappeared after the Calamity was defeated (sealed),” Fujibayashi said. “All of the people of Hyrule also witnessed this, but there is no one who knows the mechanism or reason why they disappeared, and it is considered a mystery. It is believed that since the Calamity disappeared, they also disappeared as their role had been fulfilled.”
In Breath of the Wild, the world of Hyrule was dominated by the Ancient Sheikah technology. The Ancient Shrines, Sheikah Towers, the spider-like Guardians, and, of course, the player's Sheikah Slate modeled after the Wii U gamepad. After Calamity Ganon was defeated, the Ancient Sheikah technology left with him.
While the loss of advanced technology would raise a ruckus anywhere, the ever-changing landscape of Hyrule has caused its citizens to be numb to such a dramatic change. "Thus, people have simply assumed the reason behind the disappearance to likely be related to ancient Sheikah technology," Fujibayashi said. "And it seems there is no one who has tried to explore the matter further."
In Tears of the Kingdom, the Zonai technology serves the same purpose as the Sheikah technology. Fueling the advancements of Hyrule, while offering the player devices for imaginative creations through Link's new Zonai arm. In place of the Guardians are the Zonai robots called Constructs that populate Hyrule on the ground and the sky above. Link's Sheikah Slate is replaced with a Purah pad that resembles the Nintendo Switch tablet. The Skyview Towers are the rare remainder of Sheikah technology, as they're built from the scraps of broken-down Guardians.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on March 12. Reviewers praised the game for its freedom of creativity and exploration. Despite Tears of the Kingdom's critical and commercial success, Nintendo currently has no plans to release any downloadable content. No future Zelda DLC has fueled recent rumors of Nintendo working on a console successor to the Switch.
Source: The Telegraph