The game’s industry is still working its way through the fallout of the recent series of acquisitions, but it looks like there is one more coming out before the end of February. Nintendo, who has largely been quiet on the prospect of acquisitions up to this point, has announced that they will be purchasing Tokyo-based game studio SRD Co LTD for an undisclosed amount.
SRD name might not mean a lot to most gaming fans, but there is a deep history between the studio and Nintendo. The two have collaborated for nearly forty years. SRD helped with the programming and development of the NES port of Donkey Kong and some of Nintendo’s early flagship titles like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. The studio also built the prototype for the jump mechanic that became key to Super Mario Brothers, according to a Iwata Asks piece, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the industry-changing game. Most recently, SRD released last year’s Game Builder Garage.
Nintendo doesn’t have a history of making significant acquisitions, preferring to rely on the strength of its first-party titles to keep partner studios coming back to work with them, so it is a bit surprising to see them make this move now. Nintendo’s most recent purchase was Next Level Games in 2021, which developed Luigi’s Mansion 3, and are developing the upcoming Mario Strikers game. Nintendo may be feeling pressure to purchase some of their long-term partners to protect their relationship in the face of the latest series of acquisitions by Microsoft and Sony.
Nintendo’s purchase of SRD Co LTD is expected to be finalized in April 2022.
