A new report reveals that Nintendo may delay construction on a massive new development center in Kyoto to make room for planned staff increases. Plans for the new development center were first announced in 2022, with the new complex meant to allow Nintendo to put more focus on internal game development.
Construction may be delayed to accommodate increased hiring
As reported by VGC, construction on the development center may be delayed in order to expand the size of the facility. The development center, located next to the company’s main headquarters in Kyoto, was originally planned to open in 2027 but Japanese financial paper Nikkei now claims the project may be pushed back until at least 2028. The potential delay is being attributed to plans by Nintendo to increase hiring at the company on the heels of recent successes like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. According to Nikkei, Nintendo is considering adding additional floors to what was initially planned to be a 12-story complex.
Nintendo has been on a hiring spree in 2023, with the Nikkei report stating that the company hired 50% more employees this year than in 2020. This increase in hiring levels looks set to continue for the foreseeable future, with Nintendo president Shuntaro Furakawa quoted in the Nikkei article as saying that Nintendo “would like to maintain the level of recruitment of the past few years.” Expanding the new development center to make room for the arrival of additional employees would benefit Nintendo as the company begins to prepare for the eventual launch of a Nintendo Switch successor.
Buoyed by the ongoing sales success of the Nintendo Switch over half a decade on from its initial launch, Nintendo has redoubled its efforts on internal game development in recent years. Given this increased focus on creating titles in-house, delaying the new development center to accommodate what looks to be an influx of new employees would likely be a prudent move on Nintendo’s part.
