Nintendo has 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, going back to Super Mario Strikers for the GameCube in 2005.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. A statement from Nintendo said that “a number of owner-directors [of Next Level] recently determined that the time is right for them to sell their shares.” The company expects that a closer relationship with the studio will deliver “an anticipated improvement in development speed and quality.” Nintendo says the deal will close by March 1.
Next Level’s Luigi’s Mansion 3, which launched Oct. 31, 2019, was a critical and commercial success, selling 7.83 million copies worldwide as of November. Next Level also won awards for Luigi’s Mansion 3 at The Game Awards 2019, the DICE Awards and BAFTA’s Games Awards in 2020.
Founded in 2002, the studio also developed 2009’s Punch-Out!! reboot for the Wii, and 2013’s Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS.
