Nintendo renames CG animation studio

Nintendo has entered an agreement to acquire CG animation company Dynamo Pictures in order to develop visual content using Nintendo IP. The gaming company is buying 100% of outstanding shares of Dynamo Pictures and rebranding it as Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd.

With this acquisition, Nintendo is expanding further into the entertainment business. It is still unsure whether the production company will develop full-length features, in-game cutscenes or short films. Nintendo owns franchises like Mario, Kirby, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox and Animal Crossing.

Nintendo will make Dynamo Pictures its wholly owned subsidiary to strengthen the planning and production structure of visual content in the Nintendo Group. Dynamo Pictures is known for its work on the animated “Pikmin” short movies as well as “Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045” season 2, “Death Stranding,” “Monster Hunter: World,” “Final Fantasy XIII-2,” “Persona 5,” “Yuri on Ice,” “Earwig and the Witch” and more.

Nintendo is gearing up for the most significant cinematic release in years; an animated movie based on the Super Mario Bros. franchise starring Chris Pratt, scheduled to release in spring next year, almost thirty years after the last major cinematic adaptation: 1993’s live action Super Mario Bros. starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo. A live action adaptation of Detective Pikachu based on the Pokémon franchise was released in 2019.