Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Acquisitions
3
Major Deals Covered
This page covers 3 major deals from 2021 to 2024, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Next Level Games | 2021 | Undisclosed | To secure exclusive development resources, ensure the continued production of high-quality franchises like Luigi's Mansion, and prevent the studio from being acquired by a competitor. |
| Dynamo Pictures (Renamed to Nintendo Pictures) | 2022 | Undisclosed | To strengthen the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo group, allowing them to create high-quality CG animation internally. |
| Shiver Entertainment | 2024 | Undisclosed | To secure a studio with deep expertise in porting complex, high-fidelity games to Nintendo platforms, specifically preparing for the technical demands of the Switch successor. |
2024
To secure a studio with deep expertise in porting complex, high-fidelity games to Nintendo platforms, specifically preparing for the technical demands of the Switch successor.
Shiver brings extensive experience in bringing third-party titles (like Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1) to the technically constrained Switch hardware.
Strengthened Nintendo's internal technical capabilities for optimizing advanced game engines on bespoke hardware.
2022
To strengthen the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo group, allowing them to create high-quality CG animation internally.
Renamed to Nintendo Pictures, this acquisition signals Nintendo's serious, long-term commitment to expanding its IP into movies, animation, and short films without relying entirely on external partners.
Created an internal leader for visual media production, giving Nintendo complete creative control over the future cinematic adaptations of Zelda, Metroid, and Donkey Kong.
2021
To secure exclusive development resources, ensure the continued production of high-quality franchises like Luigi's Mansion, and prevent the studio from being acquired by a competitor.
Next Level Games became a wholly owned subsidiary, solidifying Nintendo's pipeline of second-party exclusive titles and giving Nintendo a stronger development footprint in North America.
Secured a capable studio with a proven track record of developing hit Nintendo games, immediately resulting in the success of Luigi's Mansion 3 and Mario Strikers: Battle League.
With the Switch 2 launched in June 2025, Nintendo is focused on growing its installed base and software sales while expanding IP beyond games. The Mario film franchise has passed $2 billion at the box office, including The Super Mario Galaxy Movie released in April 2026, and Super Nintendo World areas operate at Universal parks in Japan, Hollywood and Orlando. Nintendo Pictures gives it in-house animation capacity for future adaptations.
Nintendo runs a closed hardware-and-software platform. It sells its own consoles (Switch 2 and Switch), then earns higher-margin revenue from first-party games, digital sales, Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions and third-party publishing on those systems. Because major first-party series stay exclusive to Nintendo hardware, each new console sale feeds future software revenue. The dedicated platform business produced about $14.7 billion (¥2.2 trillion) of FY2026 sales, while IP-related income from films, mobile, royalties and merchandise added ~$492 million (¥73.5 billion).
Unlike Microsoft and Sony, which spend tens of billions buying massive third-party publishers (such as Activision Blizzard or Bungie), Nintendo pursues a conservative M&A strategy. It only acquires development studios that have collaborated exclusively with Nintendo for decades (such as Next Level Games, developer of Luigi's Mansion 3) to preserve internal corporate culture.
Vancouver-based Next Level Games developed blockbuster Nintendo hits including Luigi's Mansion 3, Punch-Out!!, and Super Mario Strikers. When the studio's private owners sought a sale, Nintendo acquired 100% of the shares to prevent third-party takeover and secure their elite animation and development talent.
SRD Co. had served as Nintendo's close software programming partner since the early 1980s, co-developing core engine code for Super Mario Bros., Zelda, and Animal Crossing. Nintendo acquired SRD to secure its long-standing engineering talent and streamline proprietary software pipeline integration.
In May 2024, Nintendo acquired Miami-based Shiver Entertainment from Embracer Group. Shiver specializes in optimizing and porting demanding AAA games (such as Hogwarts Legacy and Mortal Kombat 1) onto hardware-constrained platforms, strengthening Nintendo's internal porting capabilities for the Switch successor.
During the 1990s, Nintendo owned a 49% stake in British studio Rare (creators of GoldenEye 007 and Donkey Kong Country). In 2002, Nintendo declined to buy the remaining 51% stake and sold its shares to Microsoft for $375 million, demonstrating its strict valuation discipline when acquiring creative studios.
Yes, in 2007 Nintendo acquired an 80% controlling stake in Monolith Soft from Bandai Namco, later buying the remaining shares. Monolith Soft became a powerhouse first-party developer, creating the acclaimed Xenoblade Chronicles series and providing core world-building design for Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
In 2022, Nintendo acquired CG animation studio Dynamo Pictures and rebranded it as Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd. to strengthen internal production of high-end visual content, cinematic game cutscenes, and animated adaptations of Nintendo IP.
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