Nintendo has its own games tested at a location in Washington state, among other places, but this is apparently currently being restructured. According to a report by Kotaku, Nintendo has so far not relied primarily on employees, but rather on contractors who were hired for individual projects. That is now changing: When asked, Nintendo confirmed that the number of contractors will be reduced. At the same time, they should be offered full-time employment, at least in part.
Because of the Switch 2?
It is not officially known how many testers are affected by the step. According to Kotaku, some employees are talking about over 100 contractors whose contracts are ending and some of whom are being offered a takeover. These should then usually be used in other departments. Apparently Nintendo wants to significantly reduce the number of employees in its own quality assurance, at least in the USA.
In addition to the general market environment – layoffs are currently not uncommon in the video game industry – the Switch 2 may also play a role. According to Kotaku, the console's launch titles, which have reportedly been pushed back to early 2025, have not yet reached the testing phase. In addition, there are currently not enough large productions at Nintendo to fully utilize the test facility in the USA.
Suitable for: Nintendo Switch 2: The fears about the release seem to be coming true
If this is actually true, downsizing the testing facility for quality assurance would be entirely understandable, at least in the short term. If the Nintendo Switch 2 is actually scheduled to appear at the beginning of next year, the launch titles would have to enter the fine-tuning phase in a few months. In this scenario, players would have to hope that there would still be enough employees so that Nintendo's upcoming AAA titles would not be plagued by errors. And it is of course to be hoped that those contractors who are not taken over by Nintendo will soon find employment with other companies.
Source: Kotaku