2022 has already seen mergers between Take-Two and Zynga, Microsoft and Activision, and now Nintendo has announced plans to purchase their longtime partner SRD Co. Ltd. This merger demonstrates a continued growth in size for major companies within the gaming world. The announcement comes after nearly 40 years of the companies working together on many major games. It also comes less than one year after the company purchased Next Level Games, the creators of the Mario Striker series.
Nintendo has not said how much the company will be bought for but it is known that they will be buying the company’s outstanding shares. The deal is currently scheduled to close on April 1, following approval. Nintendo said that they expect the deal to help “secure the availability of software development resources for Nintendo”. According to Nintendo, these resources will come after they “strengthen the management base” of SRD. While there is expected to be some impact on the business as a whole, Nintendo does not expect there to be too much of an effect. Although Nintendo said they were not planning on buying too many studios, they likely made a relatively large commitment with this merger.
After being founded in 1979, the company began to work with Nintendo on many different games. The company helped the development of Mario and even recommended that Mario is able to jump higher than other characters. The company has also helped collaborate on games such as the original Donkey Kong and The Legend of Zelda. In 2021, SRD Co. Ltd. released Game Builder Garage.
While many fans were not expecting Nintendo to make any major purchases, the deal to acquire SRD. Co. Ltd. should not come as too large of a surprise due to the history between the companies. The two will continue to collaborate and many fans are excited to see what comes next.