This is the first studio acquisition that the platform holder has made since 2007.
Japanese games giant Nintendo is acquiring the developer that made Luigi’s Mansion 3, Next Level Games.
In a release on its investor page, Nintendo said that the deal is expected to be finished by March 1 of this year. The Vancouver, Canada-based outfit has worked on a number of Nintendo IP, including Super Mario Strikers, Metroid Prime: Federation Force and Punch Out! for the Wii. The company hasn’t just worked for Nintendo, however, having collaborated with the likes of Activision on Transformers: Cybertron Adventures, Ubisoft for 2010’s Ghost Recon and even partnering with Sega for Captin America: Super Soldier for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Next Level is the second developer that Nintendo owns in North America, sitting alongside Retro Studios in the company’s portfolio.
“Completion of the Acquisition will serve to secure the availability of NLG development resources for Nintendo, including development expertise, as well as facilitate an anticipated improvement in development speed and quality by enabling closer communication and exchange of staff with the Nintendo development team,” Nintendo wrote in its release about the acquisition.
According to industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls from Ampere Analysis, this is the first studio that Nintendo has bought since Monolith Soft back in 2007.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 launched in October 2019, with VG247 saying in our review that it boasted “a quality and energy to rival Mario.”