Nintendo acquires the studio that made Luigi’s Mansion 3

Nintendo has acquired Vancouver-based Next Level Games, the studio behind Luigi’s Mansion 3.

According to an official notification from Nintendo (via Polygon), Next Level Games’ “owner-directors recently determined that the time is right for them to sell their shares.”

Nintendo and Next Level Games are expected to close the deal on March 1st.

Next Level Games has worked with Nintendo multiple times in the past. Besides the excellent Luigi’s Mansion 3, the studio made Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, 2009’s Punch-Out!!, Super Mario Strikers, and Mario Strikers Charged.

Given the success of Luigi’s Mansion 3, it’s a pretty good bet that Next Level Games will be making another game in the series at some point. However, what we’d really like to see is a revival of the reported Super Mario Spikers, a volleyball Mario sports game that Next Level Games was working on until Nintendo canceled it in 2007.