Nintendo is acquiring Bandai Namco Studios Singapore as a subsidiary

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 27/11/2025

Nintendo has announced that it will acquire a majority stake in Bandai Namco Studios Singapore (BNNS) next year.

The Japanese game publishers have reached an agreement with Bandai Namco for the transfer of shares next year to strengthen Nintendo’s development structure.’

Bandai’s Singapore studio has previously worked on games in the TEKKEN, ACE COMBAT, and SOUL CALIBUR franchises.

BNSS will now continue its game development under the new name of Nintendo Studios Singapore.

Nintendo plans to acquire 80% of Bandai Namco Studios Singapore shares on April 1st, 2026.

The remaining shares will then be acquired after a ‘certain period, once the subsidiary’s operations have stabilised,’ according to Nintendo.

Nintendo currently has shares in Bandai Namco Holdings, the previous parent company of BNSS, and was one of its top 10 shareholders back in September 2025 (1.78%).

The publishers predict that the acquisition “will have only a minor effect on Nintendo’s results for this fiscal year.”

This will be Nintendo’s first studio based in Singapore.

This follows on from Nintendo’s acquisition of Nintendo Pictures in 2022, and Shiver Entertainment in 2024.

Nintendo Pictures was the production company behind the popular Pikmin Shorts and perhaps could be working on Mario movie content.

The new trailer for the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie revealed Brie Larson has been cast as the voice of Rosalina.

Games Developed by Bandai Namco Studios Singapore

BNSS and Nintendo have collaborated multiple times in the past on a multitude of games.

Most recently, BNSS assisted Nintendo in the development of Splatoon 3 and worked on other games in the franchise.

Splatoon 3, the child-friendly shooter, has had numerous esports events, including the 2025 Digital Schoolhouse Esports finals in the UK.

BNSS also developed Nintendo’s New Pokémon Snap game, which was released on the Nintendo Switch back in 2021.

As for other competitive titles BNSS have worked on, the studio contributed to both Tekken 7 and Tekken 8.

Tekken 8 had a tournament at the Esports World Cup earlier this year with a $1m (£755k) prize pool won by Korean pro Lim ‘Ulsan’ Soo-hoon.

It’s worth noting, BNSS is different to the Bandai Namco Studios team that has worked with Masahiro Sakurai on Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Kirby Air Riders.

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

In my seven years of esports writing, I've introduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I'm most proud of the latter.

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