Nintendo acquired Next Level Games, the makers of Luigi’s Mansion 3 on Nintendo Switch, the company announced on Tuesday. Vancouver-based Next Level has delivered seven titles published by Nintendo since Super Mario Forward for the GameCube in 2005.
The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. A statement from Nintendo said that “several owner-directors [of Next Level] recently determined that it is the right time for them to sell their shares. ”The company hopes that a closer relationship with the studio will provide” an early improvement in the speed and quality of development “Nintendo says the deal will close on March 1.
Next level Luigi Mansion 3, which was released on October 31, 2019, was a critical and commercial success, selling 7.83 million copies worldwide in November. Next Level also won awards for Luigi’s Mansion 3 the 2019 Game Awards, the DICE Awards and the BAFTA’s Games Awards in 2020.
Founded in 2002, the studio also developed the Punch-Out !! restart for Wii and 2013 Luigi’s Mansion: Shadowmoon for the 3DS.