The Japanese company Nintendo has announced its intention to acquire its old partner, the studio SRD Co. Ltd. The companies have been collaborating since the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System. SRD will become part of Nintendo on April 1 this year.
Tokyo-based studio SRD has been involved in the development of many Nintendo games, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Game Builder Garage, Ring Fit Adventure, 1-2 Switch, and Mario Kart Tour for mobile devices.
It's surprising that Nintendo didn't acquire SRD sooner, notes the Engadget blogger. The companies have been working together for about 40 years. They have been collaborating since the days of Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros.
SRD will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nintendo in April 2022. The latter does not disclose details about the cost of the transaction.
Last January, Nintendo bought Canadian developer Next Level, which created the last two Luigi's Mansion series, Mario Strikers Charged, Punch Out!!, Metroid Prime: Federation Force. For 15 years, the company only worked on Nintendo games. Luigi's Mansion 3 has sold over 8 million copies. Next Level became Nintendo's second North American studio after Retro Games.
In early February of this year, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said that the company was not seeking to acquire third-party studios. He noted that Nintendo is opting for an organic development that will be built on products created by the company.
Last November, Nintendo announced the success of the Switch console, which will see the company invest $880 million to expand its game development capabilities.
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