Nintendo has reportedly cut 120 contractor testing roles at its North American operation – with an unspecified number said to have been converted to full-time positions – as part of a major restructuring effort that comes amid claims of a testing “lull” ahead of Switch 2’s arrival.
That’s according to Kotaku, which describes the restructuring – based on word from a number of former and current contractors – as a “massive downsizing” of Nintendo’s Washington-based games and hardware testing team. While the publication doesn’t put a number on the job cuts, reporter Ethan Gach said he understands “roughly 120 contractor positions have been eliminated at Nintendo of America” in a follow-up post on social media.
In a statement confirming its restructuring, Nintendo told Kotaku it had reorganised its Product Testing functions to “drive greater global integration in game development efforts” and “better align [Nintendo of America] with interregional testing procedures and operations.”
The company also confirmed the move would result in “some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions.” It did not specify how many workers would lose their jobs versus the number of newly created full-time positions, but did say those impacted by the job cuts would receive “severance packages and… assistance during their transition.” Kotaku sources added those going full-time “appear to be getting moved out of software testing.”