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Nintendo of America is restructuring the small army of contractors that helps test its games and hardware in its Washington state headquarters, the company confirmed to Kotaku. According to four current and former contractors, the result is a massive downsizing that comes amid layoffs across the rest of the video game industry and after the Mario maker reportedly delayed the launch of a “Switch 2" successor until 2025.
It’s not immediately clear how many total employees will be let go or not have their contracts renewed. According to four current and former employees, the restructuring could affect over 100 contractors, and most of those being converted to full-time status appear to be getting moved out of software testing. This would be the first mass layoff at Nintendo since even larger-scale cuts across competitors in the console space like Sony and Microsoft earlier this year, though it doesn’t appear to impact e shift also comes during a recent “lull” in Nintendo of America’s testing department, three contractors told Kotaku. They said there had been no new major first-party games in the testing pipeline, and none of them were aware of anyone having hands-on time with the upcoming Switch 2, despite previous hopes that it would arrive as early as the second half of 2024. They also weren’t sure how Nintendo of America could continue to test massive games like last year’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was praised for its technical performance and lack of bugs, with the new cuts. Nintendo declined to comment on the status of its testing pipeline.
Big Shakeup At Nintendo Testing Center Ahead Of Switch 2
Nintendo of America lays off some contractors while converting others to full-time employees
kotaku.com