Next Level Games, Inc. is a Canadian video game developer owned by Nintendo based in Vancouver. Founded in October 2002 by former members of EA Black Box who've worked on games such as Sega Soccer Slam and NHL Hitz titles. Next Level Games specializes in creating console video games. Their first project was NHL Hitz Pro, which was published by Midway Games in 2003 and followed up from EA Black Box's prior entries in the NHL Hitz series. The company is best known for its work with Nintendo, the Mario Strikers games and Punch-Out!! for the Wii, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Metroid Prime: Federation Force for the Nintendo 3DS, and Luigi's Mansion 3 for the Nintendo Switch.
Among other awards, Next Level Games has been named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" and one of BC's Top Employers in 2008, 2009 and 2012. The company has been featured in Maclean's magazine and BC Business magazine.
Jul 17 2019History
In January 2014, the studio announced that it would work exclusively with Nintendo from then on.34 In that same interview, co-founder Jason Carr and producer Ken Yeeloy revealed that it was Nintendo who approached Next Level Games in the first place to develop Super Mario Strikers for the GameCube due to much of the team's prior work on Sega Soccer Slam at EA Black Box.5
In January 2021, Nintendo announced that it had purchased Next Level Games after "A number of owner-directors recently determined that the time is right for them to sell their shares, and NLG therefore began exploring potential sale transactions".6 According to Nintendo's 2021 annual report, this acquisition took place on March 31st, 2021.7 Co-founder Tronsgard would later retire from the studio by March 2022.8
List of games developed
List of games developed by Next Level GamesCancelled
- WWE Titans: Parts Unknown - PS2, Xbox11
- Super Mario Spikers – Wii12
- Catalyst - PS3, Xbox 36013
- Clockwerk – Wii, X360, PS314
External links
References
"Hands-On With The Secret-Filled Luigi's Mansion 3". Kotaku Australia. June 12, 2019. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190611221331/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/06/hands-on-with-the-secret-filled-luigis-mansion-3/ ↩
Phillips, Tom (July 17, 2019). "Luigi's Mansion 3 gets the spookiest release date possible". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 27, 2019. https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-07-17-luigis-mansion-3-gets-the-spookiest-release-date-possible ↩
Phillips, Tom (January 9, 2014). "Luigi's Mansion 2 dev will now work exclusively with Nintendo". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved January 9, 2014. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-01-09-luigis-mansion-2-dev-will-now-work-exclusively-with-nintendo ↩
"Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon developer Next Level Games signs second-party deal with Nintendo". ScrewAttack.com. January 9, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151009173615/http://www.screwattack.com/news/luigis-mansion-dark-moon-developer-next-level-games-signs-second-party-deal-nintendo ↩
Nutt, Christian (January 8, 2014). "Working with Nintendo, making a studio great for developers". Game Developer. Retrieved January 10, 2025. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/working-with-nintendo-making-a-studio-great-for-developers ↩
McFerran, Damien (January 5, 2021). "Nintendo Is Buying Luigi's Mansion Studio Next Level Games". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 5, 2021. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/nintendo_is_buying_luigis_mansion_studio_next_level_games ↩
"Annual Report 2021 (page 54)" (PDF). Nintendo Co., Ltd. : Investor Relations Information. July 19, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2025. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2021/annual2103e.pdf ↩
Doolan, Liam (March 4, 2022). "Co-Founder Of Nintendo-Owned Studio Next Level Games Announces Retirement". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 10, 2025. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/03/co-founder-of-nintendo-owned-studio-next-level-games-announces-retirement ↩
Co-developed with Arkadium and Smoking Gun Interactive /wiki/Arkadium ↩
"Tom's guide to Microsoft Solitaire Collection". July 29, 2020. https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/how-to-download-microsoft-solitaire-collection ↩
"Next Level Games was working on a WWE game that was cancelled by publisher THQ". Unseen64.net. February 18, 2012. https://www.unseen64.net/2012/02/18/wwe-titans-parts-unknown-ps2-xbox-cancelled/ ↩
"Super Mario Spikers is a cancelled volleyball/wrestling hybrid game developed by Next Level Games". Unseen64.net. August 6, 2011. https://www.unseen64.net/2011/08/06/super-mario-spikers-wii-prototype/ ↩
"Next Level Games was working on an Action title known as "Catalyst"". Unseen64.net. July 12, 2010. https://www.unseen64.net/2010/07/12/catalyst-xbox-360-ps3-pitch-cancelled/ ↩
"Next Level Games Was Working on a Puzzle-Platformer Called "Clockwerk"". Gamnesia.com. January 12, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924020713/http://www.gamnesia.com/news/next-level-games-was-working-on-a-puzzle-platformer-called-clockwerk/ ↩