Nintendo snaps up a studio known for its Switch ports

Nintendo is buying (PDF) Florida-based studio Shiver Entertainment from the Embracer Group, which is splitting up its rather messy gaming empire and is letting go of certain assets. Shiver was founded in 2012 and is mostly known for working with publishers and developers to port games to the Switch, including couple of Scribblenauts titles and Hogwarts Legacy. Nintendo will acquire the “boutique-sized studio” in full, making it a fully owned subsidiary that will continue working on Switch ports and developing software for multiple platforms.

The Japanese gaming company isn’t known for gobbling up small studios and developers. In its announcement of the deal, it said it’s aiming “to secure high-level resources for porting and developing software titles” with this purchase. By buying Shiver, Nintendo is also showing that it’s committed to the Switch platform, which will remain its primary business for years to come.

As Nintendo Life notes, Nintendo may have decided to purchase Shiver to acquire its talent, as well. The studio’s CEO, John Schappert, is an industry veteran who used to oversee Xbox Live, the Xbox platform software and Microsoft Game Studios. He also served as Chief Operating Officer at EA and at Zynga. Nintendo didn’t say how much it’s paying for the studio, but it doesn’t sound like the purchase will make any considerable impact on its finances. “The Acquisition will have only a minor effect on Nintendo’s results for this fiscal year,” the company wrote in its announcement.