Vancouver-based Next Level Games is set to be acquired by Nintendo by March 1, 2021. The studio is already familiar with Nintendo brands and characters from their work developing major titles like Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon for the Nintendo 3DS, Luigi’s Mansion 3 for the Nintendo Switch, and earlier on Super Mario Strikers for the Nintendo GameCube. They join the elite group of Western studios that are now a part of Nintendo, like Retro Studios in Austin, Texas. Through this acquisition, Next Level Games also becomes the first Canadian studio to join Nintendo.
Although the financial details haven’t been disclosed yet, we can expect a large boost of confidence from Nintendo towards the Canadian studio. Moreover, Next Level Games had been a second-party partner for well over a decade, developing exclusive Nintendo titles.
This is a big development for the Canadian video game ecosystem. The fact that Nintendo – one of the the oldest, most respected and acclaimed game companies in the world – is entering this partnership with Next Level Games is another sign of recognition for the strength and quality of the Canadian game development space.