Nintendo of America confirmed that it is reorganizing its workforce of small contractors at its Washington state headquarters to help test its games and hardware. my city. The result, according to four current and former contractors, was amid layoffs and subsequent mass layoffs in other parts of the video game industry. mario maker Reportedly delayed launch a The successor to “Switch 2” Until 2025.
“These changes will involve the end of some contractor assignments and the creation of a number of new full-time employee positions,” a Nintendo spokesperson said. my city in an email.Contractor for Nintendo of America People who feel undervalued and underpaid They have long called on companies to make them full-time “red badge” employees rather than taking advantage of loopholes in seasonal work requirements. While some of those people are now finally transitioning to direct employment, others, including testers with over 10 years of experience, are being laid off, though Nintendo says everyone affected will receive severance pay.
When contacted for comment, a Nintendo spokesperson issued the following statement.
Nintendo of America (NOA) has reorganized its product testing function to promote greater global integration of game development efforts. These changes will also better align the NOA with interregional testing procedures and operations.
The changes will involve the end of some contractor assignments and the creation of a number of new full-time employee positions. For all assignments that are ending, the contractor’s agency will provide severance packages with support from NOA and provide assistance during the transition period.
To those contractor employees who are leaving us, we are extremely grateful for the important contributions they have made to our business and express our sincere gratitude for their hard work and service to Nintendo.
It’s unclear how many employees will be laid off or have their contracts not renewed. The reorganization could affect more than 100 contractors, according to four current and former employees, and it appears most of those who move to full-time will no longer be involved in software testing.This would be Nintendo’s first major layoffs since larger cuts by rivals in the console space. like sony and microsoft earlier this year, though it doesn’t appear to have affected any existing full-time employees.
Three contractors say the shift also comes amid a recent “lull” in Nintendo of America’s testing division my city. They said there are no new major first-party games in the test pipeline, and none of them know of anyone who has had time to play with the upcoming Switch 2, despite previous hopes it would be available as early as the second half of 2019. 2024.They’re also unsure how Nintendo of America can continue to test big games like last year’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomWith the new clip, it was praised for its technical performance and error-free quality. Nintendo declined to comment on the status of its beta channel.
According to preliminary reports from Brazilian reporters Pedro Henrique Luti Lipewhich was later confirmed gas chromatography, european playersand Bloombergthe Switch 2 was recently delayed to early 2025. gas chromatography According to reports, this change is to give Nintendo more time to support the launch of new consoles and large first-party games, similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Editionand super mario odyssey All of this helps make the Switch a sales giant within its first year.
Updated March 27, 2024 at 1:16 pm ET: Added more information about current full-time employees who are not part of the layoffs.