Nintendo has announced it has acquired the Canadian gaming studio Next Level Games Inc in a rare turn of events.
Those familiar with the game will notice this is the same company that worked on many Nintendo titles, including Super Mario Strikers, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. More recently, Luigi’s Mansion 3. Yes, they also worked on Metroid Prime: Blast Ball and Federation Force, but I’m willing to ignore that tidbit.
This was first noticed and reported by Gearoid Reidy of Bloomberg.
Here's the English statement https://t.co/enqr5VaqmE pic.twitter.com/bD3oW2vyW2
— Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド (@GearoidReidy) January 5, 2021
This acquisition was announced today, Jan. 5th, 2021, and is expected to close on March 1st, 2021. It was not specified as to how much Nintendo acquired Next Level Games for. As per the acquisition, Nintendo will retain 100% of the company’s shares.
You can read the entirety of the announcement here.
While it’s been typical to hear that either Microsoft or Sony have acquired a company to bolster its gaming division, we’d rarely hear something similar from Nintendo, but that’s exactly what’s happening here. And it’s a smart move on Nintendo’s part, especially if they happen to work with a developer who may eventually get gobbled up by a competitor.
Here’s to hoping this acquisition will lead to another Luigi’s Mansion being developed for the Switch, or whatever console Nintendo has planned for the future.
