Key foods
- Nintendo has acquired full ownership of Xenoblade Chronicles developer Monolith Soft and now owns all 2,400 shares of the company.
- Nintendo initially bought an 80 percent stake in Monolith Soft from Bandai Namco in 2007, then increased that stake to more than 96 percent four years later.
- The company bought the remaining 80 shares held by Monolith Soft's founders between February and November 2024.
nintendo has bought Monolith Soft completely. Not much is expected to change after the move, as the studio has already been a subsidiary of Nintendo for the majority of its life.
Monolith Soft – Not to be confused with fear and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor The developer is Monolith Productions – a Japanese studio specializing in role-playing games. The number of its employees reached 264 in 2023. The company is best known for having Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles The group's titles were founded by former SquareSoft designer Tetsuya Takahashi in 1999 and operated as a Namco and later Namco Bandai (now known as Bandai Namco) for eight years. Nintendo then acquired a controlling stake in the company in 2007.
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Now it appears that the switch maker has increased its stake in Monolith Soft to full ownership. That's according to Monolith Soft's official website, which was recently updated to reveal that Nintendo now owns all 2,400 shares of the company, as first reported by Automation West. Prior to the change, founders Tetsuya Takahashi and Hirohide Sugiura each held 30 shares, while co-founder Yasuyuki Hane held 20. Thus, their total stake in the studio came to about 3.33%. In 2007, Nintendo initially purchased 80% of Monolith Soft, but in 2011, it increased its stake to 96.66%.
Nintendo completely bought Monolith Soft without much fanfare
It is currently unclear when exactly Nintendo bought the remaining 80 shares from the founders of Monolith Soft. Game Rant's review of cached web data shows that Xenoblade Chronicles The developer began listing Nintendo as its exclusive owner from October 1 through November 21, 2024. However, the acquisition may have been finalized months earlier. Nintendo was still listed as a partial owner of Monolith Soft in the company's latest annual prospectus, published in February 2024.
Timeline of Nintendo shares in Monolith Soft
|
year |
stock |
Ownership percentage |
|---|---|---|
|
2007 |
1,920 |
80% |
|
2011 |
2,320 |
96% |
|
2024 |
2400 |
100% |
Given that Monolith Soft has been a subsidiary of Nintendo for 17 of its 25 years, this turn of events is unlikely to have a material impact on its day-to-day operations. This studio is currently working Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Editiona remaster of the 2015 Wii U JRPG, is set to release as a Switch exclusive on March 20, 2025.
Aside from its main titles, Monolith Soft has consistently played a supporting role in Nintendo's big budget projects. For example, the Tokyo branch is credited with contributing to it The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordwhile its Kyoto studio has contributed to the development Pikmin 2, Splatoon 3and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Monolith Soft Tokyo 2nd Production Team can also be found in the credits The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and tears of the kingdomamong other Nintendo first-person games.
Sources: Automation West, Monolith Soft (in cache)
Soft seamless
- headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
