What are Nintendo working on - A look at their studios
Nintendo are one of, if not the most mysterious game makers around, they are constantly going quiet, letting their teams just get their work done, but then randomly they will drop insane nuggets of information in unexpected ways.
2021 was an odd year for Nintendo, they had a lot of games release from big titles like Super Mario 3D World, to surprise releases like Metroid Dread and then experimental games like Game Garage Builder. While we know some of the teams that Nintendo has, the bulk of their workforce is now labelled under the first group below, which makes it hard to know what is going on there.
Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development
Series known to them: Everything, Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing…
While the most technical name for a development group, there is no denying the pedigree that NEPD have going for them. Last year saw the group see the release of a half-dozen titles and one of those was a Wii U Port. Coming into 2022, we know that the group has Splatoon 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel in the works, but that is it, at least publicly known.
It has been a few years since we had a mainline Mario game, an original one that is, Ring Fit Adventure has been selling very well for the company as well, so there is a chance we can see something new from that series as well. Of course, in terms of IP that need to be used, there are countless from Mario Kart to Star Fox, F-Zero is in there as well, will any of those see new entries in 2022, honestly it is doubtful. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the game that just won’t stop selling and the last Star Fox game was a total bomb and F-Zero seems to be more forgotten than Metroid.
Nintendo Software Technology
Series known to them: Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Metroid Prime: Hunters
While most of Nintendo’s titles are developed in Japan, there are a few exceptions to that and NST is one such group, years ago they were known for creating some titles in the 1080 Snowboarding and Wave Race series, which people loved and then they slowly downsized until they were mostly making the Mario Vs Donkey Kong games. The last few years saw them helping bring externally developed titles to Switch and some ports, but it has been a few year since they released anything new on their own.
Honestly given how little work the team does now, that isn’t porting or support related, it is unlikely that we will see anything new from them this year and if we do, it would likely be in the Mario Vs Donkey Kong series. I would love to be wrong and see a new Wave Race title released, or even a new 1080 snowboarding game, but those are pipedreams at this point.
Nintendo European Research & Development
Series known to them: Virtual Console, older console emulation
Not a game developer, NERD as they are affectionally called, develop solutions for the company, this group are the ones who allowed the emulation of Super Nintendo titles, that made use of the SuperFX chip like Star Fox and Stunt Race FX for the Super NES Mini and most recently they have done tech work for Ring Fit Adventure and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
Given their recent work has been in the emulation space and we just got a less than ideal Nintendo 64 application as part of the growth of Nintendo Switch Online, the team will likely take time this year to correct that. It is possible that we may start to see additional platforms being added as well, like the Gameboy or even the DS - they did that for the Wii U, but whatever they do, it is unlikely we will be told it was them.
Monolith Soft
Series known to them: Xenoblade Chronicles series, Baten Kaitos series and Disaster: Day of Crisis
Monolith Soft have not released an original game since 2017’s Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and while there was DLC for it in 2018 and a remastered version of the first game in 2020, brand new content has been slim from the studio. It is important to note though, that that does not mean they sit on their collective bums as the studio is often pulled in by Nintendo to help with other games.
A lot of folks would love to see a new RPG from the studio released in 2022 and while there hasn’t been any word that it is happening, given they have multiple teams, the odds of one of them not working on something new is slim. The question is though, are we going to see a new Xenoblade game, or something entirely new from the studio?
NDcube
Series known to them: Wii Party series, Mario Party series
While not the most well known of Nintendo’s internal teams, NDCube has been responsible for some of their biggest hits, with Wii Party all the way back in 2010 and Mario Party since 2012’s Mario Party 9, heck they are also the team that brought F-Zero to the Game Boy Advance.
With the team having just shipped Mario Party Superstars last year, the odds of them dropping a new game this year are slim at best, though it is possible that some DLC will be added for the game, though there is no word on that actually happening. NDCube is going to have a quiet 2022, keeping things contained while they start up work on whatever game comes next.
Next Level Games
Series known to them: Luigi's Mansion series, Super Mario Strikers series
Next Level Games is a studio that has had close ties to Nintendo for many years and in early 2021, that relationship became official when Nintendo bought them, making them an official Nintendo studio. The studio’s last game, prior to the buyout was 2019’s Luigi’s Mansion 3, and while the success of that game was good, it wasn’t a consistent seller, to justify buying the studio some 16 months later.
That likely means that whatever the team of just over 100 Canadians are working on, is coming soon and could be big, it could be a fourth Luigi’s Mansion or perhaps a new entry in the Mario Strikers series, which was their soccer/football game from the Gamecube and Wii days. Will we hear about whatever is ever is next this year, honestly, no idea, but we are at 2.5 years now since their last game and their release schedule has been every three years for a while now.
Retro Studios
Series known to them: Metroid Prime series, Donkey Kong Country series
Retro Studios shouldn’t need any introduction to Metroid fans, or modern Donkey Kong titles, and we do know that they have been working Metroid Prime 4, since early 2019. Their last game that was released though was back in 2018 and that was just an enhanced port of the 2014 Wii U release of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
The studio is meant to have multiple teams and while we have seen their name appear in credits for a few games over the years, like with Monolith Soft, they haven’t had anything new of their own for a while. Will we see Metroid Prime 4 this year, I think we have to, will it release this year, unlikely - but it does need to show up. There were reports of another game almost completed, before the studio was tasked to work on Metroid Prime 4, but who knows what state that was in.
At this point, we would end the feature here, as that is all of the owned development studios by Nintendo, but they are a weird one, as they have either partial ownership or exclusive relationships with a few additional studios, that also develop games for them, making use of IP that are owned by Nintendo, so let us take a look at them as well.
Camelot Software Planning
Series known to them: Mario Golf series, Mario Tennis series, Golden Sun series
Best known simply as Camelot, since the late 90’s the studio has been cranking out Mario Sports titles, swapping back and forth between Golf and Tennis. Given that we just got Mario Golf: Super Rush last year on Switch and it was confirmed late last year that there will no longer be any content developed for it, they now have a clean slate to work on whatever is next.
While the sports games have been their bread and butter for a while, they have also created the much beloved Golden Sun series and a new entry in that would be very much appreciated, especially as it has been 12 years since the last one released. The only reason we won’t see anything from them this year, outside of a trailer perhaps, is just because the studio is small, their last reported headcount was barely above 50.
Game Freak
Series known to them: Pokemon
Pokemon Legends Arceus is launching in a few weeks, they won’t have anything else this year, or at least I should say it is highly unlikely. The studio was known to create a game every few years for a long time, but once they started to expand, they started to create some smaller titles, like Tembo the Badass Elephant, Pocket Card Jockey and HarmoKnight.
Their last big release was back in 2019 with Pokemon Sword and Shield, but that same year also saw them release a brand new RPG in the form of Little Town Hero, which hit multiple platforms, so while we are getting one Pokemon game this year, their other teams could be working on something else, maybe a new Pokemon Let’s Go entry and while Pokemon is a safe bet, there really is no way of knowing if that will be it.
Good-Feel
Series known to them: Yoshi series, StreetPass games
Good-Feel is a studio that you won’t know by name, at least if you look at many of their earlier titles, but recently they have started to get a name for themselves, with their work with Yoshi and Kirby, crafting some interesting visuals for those characters. Their last game released back in 2019 and Monkey Barrels may have slipped by everyone, it did get a PC port in early 2021.
We should expect to hear from them this year, as they confirmed back in October of 2020, that their next title would be coming to Switch in 2021, though given how the world has been slow to recover from the pandemic, that will have been pushed back. We know that the game is set in either ancient Japan or at least some stylised version of it, think Mystical Ninja meets Lego and they have opened a second studio recently as well, which should help with development.
Grezzo
Series known to them: The Legend of Zelda series, Miitopia
Grezzo is a name that you have likely heard, if you have played any of the portable Zelda games since 2011’s Ocarina of Time 3D and since then all of the Zelda’s that have been portable have been their work, even Link’s Awakening on Switch was them. In between the Zelda’s though they also created an all new RPG in the form of Ever Oasis and ported Luigi’s Mansion from Gamecube to the 3DS.
Their last release was 2021’s Miitopia, which in itself was a remake of the 3DS title, but their last original release was Ever Oasis back in 2017, most things between that and now have been remakes or ports of older games. The studio is not massive, so depending on how much effort was required to bring Miitopia to Switch, we are unlikely to hear anything from them this year, but if we do, I am hoping for some remakes of the Oracle of Ages and Seasons games, like Link’s Awakening got.
HAL Laboratory
Series known to them: Kirby
This is one of those ones where we already know what is happening as Kirby and the Forgotten Lands was announced last year and dated for a 2022 release. The studio has sometimes released multiple games in a single year and Kirby has been known to release smaller titles as well, so we could get two entries of the pink guy this year.
Beyond that, the studio has also had titles like Box Boy, which did come to Switch in 2019 and then Part Time UFO for Mobile devices back in 2017, before it too came to Switch. The studio is quite large, with a reported workforce of almost 200 staff and while most of them are likely on Kirby’s next big adventure, the studio has surprised us before.
Intelligent Systems
Series known to them: Fire Emblem series, WarioWare series, Paper Mario series
Depending on who you ask, Intelligent System will be known for one of the three series above, for some it is Fire Emblem and others Paper Mario, but what is interesting is that the Switch has already had one entry from all those series as well. WarioWare was the most recent, but Fire Emblem is the one that has gained the most attention for the studio of late as well and as this year will be three years since Three Houses released, a new game in that series could happen.
The studio was also the ones behind the Advance Wars series, but while they might be offering some advice on the new game being developed by WayForward, they are not actively involved with the games development. The studio has generally released a game a year, sometimes more, for quite a while now, so it really isn’t a question of if they will release something in 2022, but what series it will be from.
Sora Ltd.
Series known to them: Super Smash Bros series, Kid Icarus series
With Super Smash Bros Ultimate development complete, with the release of the Sora dlc, (the character, not the company) the studio is likely taking a breath, before diving back into their next project. Given the legacy that Sakurai-san has as a game creator, there is no telling what his name might appear against next, we know he has a soft spot for Kid Icarus and while the 2012 release of Uprising was not the most well received release, people enjoy the character still.
As the studio is technically only two members strong, the work that they do is actually done by other studios, Bandai Namco did the development work for the recent Super Smash Bros titles, whatever they do next is likely going to require another connection. Could they go back to Q Entertainment for more Meteos, or will they partner up with another studio for something new, only time will tell.
Vanpool
Series known to them: Dillion’s series, Paper Mario Sticker Star, Kirby Fighters 2
This is one developer you may have never considered, but Vanpool does do a lot of work for Nintendo, usually helping out other studios with co-development work, like with the recent Kirby titles. While their last game was 2020’s Kirby Fighters 2, they haven’t been recorded as assisting with to many large scale projects since, so their next game is likely coming this year.
The problem is, apart form the Dillion’s Rolling Wester series, they really don’t have anything of their own, they are more of a studio that picks up IP from others to work on, or they assist with other developers and their games. Perhaps with AlphaDream no longer around, Vanpool might pick up development on the Mario and Luigi series, they have done work on them in the past. With any like they will have something this year, hopefully, the question is what though?
So there you go, a run down of all the current Nintendo first and second party development studios, including what we know and suspect they are working on. Do you think we are right on our predictions, or are we missing something else? Be sure to let us know
