Nintendo today announced their intention to acquire Canadian developer Next Level Games.

Next Level Games' partnership with Nintendo is long and storied. Starting with Super Mario Strikers on the Gamecube back in 2005, the developer has frequently worked alongside Nintendo on Wii, 3DS, and Switch titles. Most recently, Next Level Games is the studio behind the recent Luigi's Mansion titles on 3DS and Switch. Now, they're officially becoming part of Nintendo.

Expected to close March 1, 2021, Nintendo will fully acquire the Vancouver-based developer. According to Nintendo, the deal will improve development speed and quality thanks to increased communication between the developer and Nintendo development team. It would seem that Nintendo has big plans for Next Level Games, though whether that's a Luigi's Mansion 4 or something else remains a mystery. Having also developed Metroid Prime: Federation Force on 3DS, Next Level Games might be prime allies to help Retro Studios with Metroid Prime 4. We'll just have to wait and see.

We'll let you know should Nintendo or Next Level Games make any announcements.