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Next Level Games president and co-founder, Douglas Tronsgard, announces retirement

"A special thank you to Nintendo for believing in me and Next Level Games."

President and co-founder of the Nintendo-owned Next Level Games, Douglas Tronsgard, has announced plans to retire, offering a "special thank you" to Nintendo "for believing in me and Next Level Games".

Tronsgard originally served as CEO from the company's inception to the time it was acquired by Nintendo in January 2021, after which he took up the reins as president.

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"After over 20 years in the video game industry, I am happy to announce my retirement," he said in a statement (thanks, VGC).

"I wanted to say 'thank you' to everyone who helped me on my journey to get here. A special thank you to Nintendo for believing in me and Next Level Games. It's truly been my honour to be a part of NLG's incredible history.

"I look forward to a new chapter in my life that should involve lots of travelling with my wife."

Nintendo announced it would purchase Vancouver-based Luigi's Mansion 3 studio Next Level Games back in January 2021, which is now making the next Mario Strikers title.

Next Level Games, the talented Canadian developer behind Luigi's Mansion 3, is now a fully-owned subsidiary of Nintendo. It developed the well-received Mario football spin-off Super Mario Strikers and its sequel for Wii, as well as the Wii iteration of Punch-Out!! And, most recently, the enjoyable Switch entry Luigi's Mansion 3.

Earlier this week, Nintendo announced it will acquire long-running development partner SRD Co. Ltd, too. The Tokyo-based studio will be purchased for an undisclosed sum, and become part of Nintendo from 1st April this year.