Next Level Games, Inc. is a Canadian

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

owned by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Founded in August 2002, Next Level Games specializes in creating

console video game A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...

s. Their first project was ''

NHL Hitz Pro ''NHL Hitz Pro'' is an ice hockey video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Midway Games, in the '' NHL Hitz'' series. It was released on September 25, 2003, for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. Unlike the previous titles in ...

'', which was published by

Midway Games Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...

in 2003. The company is best known for its work with Nintendo, the ''Mario Strikers'' games and ''Punch-Out!!'' for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

, '' Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon'' and '' Metroid Prime: Federation Force'' for the

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

, and ''

Luigi's Mansion 3 is a 2019 action-adventure video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third main installment in the ''Luigi's Mansion'' series following '' Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon''. The game sees ...

'' for the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

. Among other awards, Next Level Games has been named one of "

Canada's Top 100 Employers Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual editorial competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions ...

" and one of

BC's Top Employers Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual editorial competition that recognizes the best places in Canada to work. First held in 1999, the project aims to single out the employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional working conditions ...

in 2008, 2009 and 2012. The company has been featured in ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'' magazine and ''

BC Business Canada Wide Media Limited is an independently owned publishing company in Western Canada, based in Burnaby, British Columbia. History Canada Wide Media Limited co-founder and CEO Peter Legge purchased a ten-cent magazine in 1976 and grew it in ...

'' magazine. On January 9, 2014, the studio announced that it would work exclusively with Nintendo from then on. On January 4, 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". This acquisition took place on March 1.

List of games developed

;Notes:

Cancelled

* ''WWE Titans: Parts Unknown'' - PS2, Xbox * '' Super Mario Spikers'' – Wii * ''Catalyst'' - PS3, Xbox 360 * ''Clockwerk'' – Wii, X360, PS3

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2002 establishments in British Columbia 2021 mergers and acquisitions Canadian companies established in 2002 Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies Companies based in Vancouver First-party video game developers Nintendo divisions and subsidiaries Video game companies established in 2002 Video game companies of Canada Video game development companies