What Are Nintendo Working On… A Look At Their Studios
Nintendo are the longest running game maker in the world, having been founded in 1889 and while video games are their latest thing, they seem to know what they are doing.
In 2023 the studio released 13 games, that is roughly one game every 28 days and simply dwarfed the amount released by either PlayStation or Xbox, even when combined. 2024 looks to be off to a strong start with three games dated for release and two more known to becoming, but like 2023 and 2022 and every year before it, we won’t learn of their second half plans until closer to June.
Of course, rumours and wishes of a new Nintendo console coming in 2024 could happen, but it could have also happened in 2023 as well. The sales for Switch consoles have been slowing down over the past year, on average around 750,000 less per quarter than the year before and with Nintendo only expecting to sell 18m consoles this fiscal year, it might be time for Switch to get a replacement, or at least a price drop as the console has never had one of those yet.
Anyway, let us take a look at who is doing what and see what we can guess to be happening.
NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
Last Game Released: Super Mario Bros. Wonder | Series: Super Mario series, Legend of Zelda series and many more
This is the mega arm of Nintendo, not only do they make all the games here, but they also oversee the work done by other studios, there are 9 divisions with in the group. Just so you have an idea of what is going on, here are the breakdowns:
Production Group No. 2 - Oversees Kirby, Xenoblade Chronicles and Fire Emblem series
Production Group No. 3 - Develops mainline entries for The Legend of Zelda
Production Group No. 4 - Known as their experimental/smaller titles like Nintendo Switch Sports and Labo
Production Group No. 5 - Develops Splatoon and Animal Crossing games
Production Group No. 6 - Oversees Paper Mario, Metroid Prime and Luigi’s Mansion series
Production Group No. 7 - Oversees 2D Metroid titles
Production Group No. 8 - Develops 3D Mario titles
Production Group No. 9 - Develops Mario Kart titles
Production Group No. 10 - Develops 2D Mario titles and Pikmin
If you are looking at that list and wonder where 1 are, well Group 1 was doing a lot of the same work that Group 2 was doing and was merged into them, at least according to reports.
Ok with that out of the way, what are Nintendo doing in 2024? Well there is a lot we know already, at least for the first few months and then some hopes and then we get into wishes. The group will kick off the year with Another Code: Recollection, then Mario Vs Donkey Kong and Princess Peach Showtime, with those games the only ones that have dates. We also know that Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is on its way and the remake of Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door is coming as well. Technically Metroid Prime 4 is still coming, but that game has now passed 7.5 years since it was announced and the only thing we have seen was them stating that the game was restarting development.
Predicting what Nintendo is going to create, well that is a harder thing to nail down if only because they tend to be so secretive until they are ready to reveal. Last year we mentioned F-Zero, Donkey Kong and Wario as likely to get games, of varying degrees of chance and all of them came true. This year however, it is not that simple as the Switch is heading into its 8th year and a successor is likely to come sooner rather than later and putting resources into a console that will soon be replaced, its not a smart decision.
Given the potential hardware upgrade/replacement on the horizon, there is more chance of us seeing Super Mario Odyssey 2 for Switch 2, than anything else, but honestly there is just no way of knowing.
NINTENDO SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY
Last Game Released: F-Zero 99 | Series: Mario vs Donkey Kong series, Metroid Prime Hunters
The first and only Nintendo branded developer outside of Japan, Nintendo Software Technology has been creating games since Ridge Racer for the Nintendo 64. While they have created a lot of games over the years, including Wave Race and 1080 for Gamecube, their most populous series is the Mario Vs Donkey Kong titles. In recent years they have acted more as support for other studios titles, like The Stretchers and Good Job!, but they pivoted back to solo development in 2023 when they made F-Zero 99.
This year will see them launch another entry in their Mario Vs Donkey Kong series, but this time for Switch. The game is just a remake of the first entry in the series, but more is always welcome. As the division creates more than games, they have made tech and apps before, its possible they might have more in store in those areas. More than likely though, we will see their name via a few F-Zero 99 updates and that will be about it, once Mario Vs Donkey Kong is out the door.
NINTENDO EUROPEAN RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Last year we said that NERD would likely be bringing another platform to Nintendo Switch Online and less than 2 months later, GameBoy and GameBoy Advance were revealed. I would love to say that we are predicting that Sega Saturn or 3DO are coming in 2024, but that is clearly nothing but wishful thinking.
As Nintendo emulation specialists, something they are still hiring for at the time of writing, there are always the chance for more games for NSO, but as the folks are R&D at heart, they might be doing something else. These are the folks that got motion controls working on Nintendo Switch Sports, the remote control Mario Kart to display the video in Mario Kart Live and even made Gamecube work on Switch. Any good R&D person will tell you that getting something to work repeatedly, is not hard but getting it to do it correctly is a challenge and as research and development can take as long as it needs to, whatever project they are working on this year, will likely go by without much notice.
MONOLITH SOFT
Last Game Released: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | Series: Xenoblade series, Xenosaga series, Baten Kaitos series
We are now approaching the 2nd anniversary since the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and the first for its final DLC, but even though those are big news, the studio didn’t rest on their laurels. Monolith Soft, not to be confused with Monolith Productions, has also managed to be a support studio to other Nintendo titles over the past few years, including last years The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The studio has a large number of staff, divided into a few locations, which is why we should see their name in something this year.
We know the studio likes to work on multiple projects at once, their main developing arm is the group behind the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 release and its DLC. To put things into context, since the Switch released, this team have made 2 massive RPGs, two big expansions and remastered the original game in the series, so they don’t slow down. Their second team is the folks that support other Nintendo titles, like Zelda, with both of them based in Tokyo. There is also a Kyoto studio that has helped with Splatoon and Animal Crossing over the years.
The reason for that history is simple, given we have a team that pumps out massive games every 2 years and another 2 to help make other games, there is next to no chance that we don’t see their name this year. With the 2nd anniversary of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 fast approaching we should at least hear of something new. With the series creator and director Tetsuya Takahashi stating he wanted to make something vastly different for a fourth entry, who knows what we will get.
NDCUBE
Last Game Released: Everybody 1-2-Switch! | Series: Mario Party series
After releasing the fun Mario Party Superstars in 2021, NDcube went silent in 2022, which lined up with their release cadence of a game every 2 years or so. Seeing their name in 2023 was expected, but sadly it was attached to the garbage fire that was Everybody 1-2-Switch!
Given the studio co-developed that game with Nintendo EPD, see the first group here, its possible that not all of their staff were assigned to working on that game, so there is a chance we will see a proper game from them this year. If however they were, then don’t expect to see their name until 2025.
NEXT LEVEL GAMES
Last Game Released: Mario Strikers: Battle League Football | Series: Mario Strikers series, Luigi’s Mansion series
After releasing Mario Strikers: Battle League Football on Switch in 2022, 2023 was the off year for Next Level Games, but they were not doing nothing, as Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD was announced as coming. Now this studio has not been named as the folks doing the remastering work, but as they created the game originally and then crafted the amazing 3rd entry, it makes sense for them to be doing it.
If however Greezo, who ported the original Luigi’s Mansion to the 3DS are handling this port, then that would leave Next Level open to do something else, the only catch is what. One interesting aspect is that the studio does not seem to have any current jobs open, which likely means either a hiring freeze, common at this time of year or they have all the staff they need. It is honestly a coin toss about if we will see their name this year, if the toss ends in a yes, the question still remains for what game.
RETRO STUDIOS
Last Game Released: Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Series: Metroid Prime series, Donkey Kong Country series
Release Metroid Prime 4 already.. that is it. Retro studios had a great series of titles with the first 3 Metroid Prime games for GameCube and then Wii and the reception of the Remaster from early 2023 shows people still love the series. While Retro moved around from Samus and into the world of Donkey Kong for their following titles, being given control of Metroid Prime 4 back in 2019 when development was restarted, was a blessing we all were happy to see.
But now over 4 years later, that blessing has become a curse as the studio and Nintendo have been so quiet on the games existence, it has technically moved into the realm of vapourware. For those not familiar with the term, it means a title people know should exist, but there has never been anything released for it, so with no proof it actually exists, its hard to state its real, even though people say it is. Nintendo keep including the game on their financial reports as coming, but it has never been given a release window, only ever TBA. If 2024 passes without any proper mention of Metroid Prime 4, Nintendo should just cancel the game and move on, but this has to be the last year that we go without any word on the game and Retro Studios.
1-Up Studio
Last Game Released: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury | Series: Mario series (development support)
Not a solo studio, 1-Up Studio is owned by Nintendo and primarily provides support for other games in development, usually connected to Mario games. They have been known to work on non-Mario titles as well, usually just depends on what is requested of them.
As a support studio we will only know what they have been working on, once we see their name in the credits of a game that releases and without any word of a new Mario game in 2024, at this stage, that may not happen this year.
Those above are all the studios that are owned by Nintendo, the following are studios not owned outright, but Nintendo either have part ownership of or a very tight working relationship with them, such as Camelot below being allowed to use Mario characters for sports games. So we will take a look at the following studios as well.
2nd Party Partners
CAMELOT SOFTWARE PLANNING
Last Game Released: Mario Golf: Super Rush | Series: Mario Golf series, Mario Tennis series, Golden Sun series
Before 1998 Camelot created games for Sega and PlayStation, including the beloved Everybody’s Golf series and apart from one other title post 1998, every other game has been made for Nintendo with the studio primarily bouncing between Mario Golf and Mario Tennis, both series that they created. The only non-sports related games that were made by the studios were a RPG series known as Golden Sun, which has still yet to arrive onto Switch Online.
Given the studio has usually kept to a 2 year dev cycle for their games for the past 20 years, excluding the first year of Covid, if they are back on track then 2024 will be their ‘on‘ year again. The real question is will they create a second Mario Tennis for Switch, or will the studio be readying an all-new entry for the next Nintendo console? Given their pedigree, I would love to see them craft an all-new Golden Sun, or maybe even bring the 3 games into a collection for the Switch 2 as a launch game. As the studio has mostly gone back and forth between Golf and Tennis and Switch already has those, what comes next is anyone’s guess.
GAME FREAK
Last Game Released: Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! | Series: Pokémon series
2023 was a quiet year for Game Freak, they released the DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and refreshed Pocket Card Jockey for Apple Arcade, but that was really it. Oh, I suppose we need to talk about their first new ip in a number of years, with Project Bloom. Details for it, including the platforms, name and date are scarce, but we do have a nice piece of concept art below.
While the studio has been known to create Pokémon games, and they do create a lot of them, they only make the new mainline entries, so titles like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were created by another studio. Now Game Freak is not massive, their office is located inside the same Building as Nintendo Tokyo, HAL Laboratory and 1-Up Studio, but they do have multiple teams within. The studio as a whole is looking to fill a lot of positions, we have no idea if they are for Project Bloom or the next mainline Pokémon, but with the former having no release information and the latter only just more than a year from its original release, it could be for either or both. The Pokémon Presents that will likely take place in February 2024 should give us a better idea of what is going on.
GOOD-FEEL
Last Game Released: Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!! | Series: Yoshi series
In 2023 it finally happened, after years of waiting for the company to reveal their Mystical Ninja spiritual successor, they did that and then released it just a few months later, with Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan made available in Japan. The only downside is that the game is only available in Japan and does not have any English support for it built in, which is why there are folks looking to mod the game to add English support already.
So what is in store for this team in 2024? If they wanted to bring Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru to the West, I would not say no, but honestly beyond that there is no word what the studio has cooking. This game was their first in 4 years and back in 2019, they managed to release 3 titles, so it stands to reason that the studio has something else in the works, but will we see it this year. Honestly, I say no if only because if a new Nintendo console is coming out, Kirby games always get the last hurrah and these folks are more Yoshi related.
GREZZO
Last Game Released: Jet Dragon | Series: Legend of Zelda ports, Ever Oasis
For years Grezzo has been a go to studio for Nintendo, when they wanted to bring older titles to newer platforms, see The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D and Luigi's Mansion for 3DS. But they have also been responsible for creating some new versions like The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening back in 2019. The last game Nintendo published from them was Miitopia, which lets face it was a game that didn’t need to exist and perhaps that is why in 2023 the studio created a game you have likely never heard of, Jet Dragon. Released onto Apple Arcade, the game tasks players with raising their own dragon and ensuring it grows up healthy and pairs with the best rider for it.
Not to diminish that release, but the studio has created far more intricate titles in less time and with Miitopia being the game before that one, I can’t imagine that the studio hasn’t been working on something else. The only real question is what? Their history with The Legend of Zelda could see them bringing another classic series to modern platforms, perhaps the Oracle titles, but more than likely the studio is cooking something new. They are looking for new hires, with one role listed as someone to help design enemies and gimmicks that appear on a map, which is very RPG sounding to me, but only time will tell with this group.
HAL LABORATORY
Last Game Released: Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe | Series: Kirby series, Adventures of Lolo series
2023 was a first for HAL, as it was the first year in a long time that only saw a single Kirby game released, normally we get 2 or more titles in a year. While the studio was involved in the remake of Return to Dream Land, it was developer Vanpool who did the bulk of the work, but sadly they have since closed down. So what did HAL get up to for the rest of the year?
Honestly, I don’t know. I tried finding out information on the studio, any jobs they might be hiring for, what people who work there are saying and its quiet. They are most likely working on something and if I had to guess, a spiritual sequel to Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but it could be something more. That game gave the series a shot in the arm so to see it back slide to a Wii entry again was a move in the wrong direction, but only time will tell what they are working on.
INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS
Last Game Released: WarioWare: Move It! | Series: Paper Mario series, WarioWare series, Fire Emblem series
If there is one developer in this list that that has more stability than a Nintendo console update, it is Intelligent Systems. They have released a game a year since 1999, if we allow for the January 2023 release of Fire Emblem Engage to be counted as their 2022 game that is. The studio is mostly know for 3 series, Paper Mario, WarioWare and Fire Emblem, but they have a few others as well. Given 2023 saw them release a Fire Emblem and WarioWare title, then this year is will be all about Paper Mario right?
While Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is being remade for Switch in 2024, there is no word on who the developer is for this. The studio has been the developer for all of the entries in the series, but they are not known for doing a lot of remakes, with Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia being one of them. Would they hand the reigns of a popular series to someone else, unlikely, but its also possible they have something else cooking for Fire Emblem, there are reports that there is a completed game just sitting there waiting to be release. Given that Advance Wars was resurrected in 2023, its possible the developers of the original entries may go back to there, to bring something new to players as well, we just need to see who is doing Paper Mario first.
SORA LTD.
Last Game Released: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Series: Super Smash Bros. series, Kirby series,
Not a developer technically, but Sora Ltd is the studio where Kirby and Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai leads other studios from. The last two Super Smash Bros titles were developed by Bandai Namco, but had Sakurai overseeing them. So what is on the cards for the man this year?
Given he is still working on his YouTube channel, where he releases multiple videos a week, you might think that he will focus there, but he has confirmed to be working on games as well. The problem is we have no idea what games he is working on, new Smash for Switch 2 is possible, but unlikely. Perhaps he is taking another crack at Kid Icarus or maybe even Kirby’s Air Ride 2, whatever it is should be a wonderful game, but its unlikely we hear about it in 2024.
So there we go, Nintendo for 2024. Given the companies notorious dedication to secrecy, finding out any information is like drawing blood from a stone but they are also quite a predictable company at times as well. What do you hope to see Nintendo do in 2024?
