Nintendo takes over developer of Luigi’s Mansion games

Nintendo has acquired Canadian developer Next Level Games. That is the maker of, among other things, the Luigi’s Mansion games, including the recent Switch game Luigi’s Mansion 3. The studio already worked closely with Nintendo.

An acquisition amount has not been disclosed, but Nintendo reports that the acquisition will not have a major impact on the company’s financials. Next Level Games was founded in 2002 and initially made games for various platforms, but since 2013 the studio has focused entirely on Nintendo exclusives.

The studio is responsible for the 2013 Nintendo 3DS game Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon and the Switch game Luigi’s Mansion 3 from 2019. In 2016, Metroid Prime: Federation Force from Next Level Games, a game for the 3DS, was released.

Shares of Next Level Games are currently owned by employees and the owners of the studio. Nintendo has reached an agreement with the studio to acquire them all. Nintendo believes that the acquisition will speed up development time and improve communication. The companies expect the transaction to close in March.

Luigi’s Mansion 3