Nintendo announced plans to acquire Canadian developer Next Level Games, a studio that worked on some of the company’s major franchises. Next Level is already a secondary partner, meaning it only makes games for Nintendo platforms, but Nintendo says the acquisition will help protect internal development resources and increase collaboration.
Next Level is based in Vancouver and is probably best known for developing the second and third Luigi’s Mansion games. Luigi’s Mansion 3 in particular, it is one of the most technically advanced games available on the Switch, with impressive animation and physics. Other Nintendo projects developed by Next Level include both Super Mario Strikers GameCube and Wii titles, Metroid Prime: Federation Strength for the 3DS and the Wii reboot of Punch-Out !!.
Financial details of the acquisition have not been released, but Nintendo expects it to be a deal signed on March 1. Nintendo will buy 100% of Next Level’s shares and says it should have a minimal effect on its earnings this fiscal year.