Nintendo to acquire Next Level Games, developer of Luigi’s Mansion

Nintendo has announced plans to acquire Canadian developer Next Level Games, a studio that has worked on some of the company’s major franchises. Next Level is already a secondary partner, which means it only makes games for Nintendo platforms, but Nintendo says the acquisition will help secure internal development resources and boost 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 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 titles on the GameCube and Wii, Metroid Prime: Federation Force for 3DS, and the Wii restart of Punch-Out !!.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Nintendo expects the deal to close on March 1. Nintendo will be repurchasing 100% of Next Level’s stock and says this should only have a minor effect on its profits this fiscal year.