Nintendo denies rumor that Mario Club employees are being laid off

A few days ago, a rumor made the rounds that Mario Club is laying off employees. However, Nintendo has now come forward denying the report.

The speculation surfaced from Japanese outlet Leakpress. Mario Club has roughly 400 employees, and 150 of them were apparently being let go. Leakpress claimed that various groups would be impacted.

Nintendo’s statement about the situation is brief but clear. The company said: “We have confirmed with Mario Club Co., Ltd. that the rumored information in the report is untrue.”

If you’ve played any Nintendo game, you’ve probably seen Mario Club in the credits. The team has been involved with game-testing and debugging for many different titles. Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, and Princess Peach: Showtime are just some of the recent credits, but there’s plenty more of course.

Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Bandai Namco was looking to lay off about 200 employees by sending them to rooms with nothing to do, which encouraged them to resign and find work elsewhere. This is due to “lackluster demand”, and Bandai Namco “decided to either cancel or pause development of several games”, including a project commissioned by Nintendo. Leakpress’ report indicated that the Mario Club layoffs were being handled differently, but regardless, it appears to be untrue. 

Thanks to Eurogamer for today’s news.