While some developers are scaling back on employees and even disappearing altogether, the size of Nintendo’s workforce continues to grow.
The success of the video game industry is a hard thing to measure. On the one hand, it feels as if the business is thriving right now. Titles like Fortnite and Call Of Duty are more popular than ever and are household names that have a presence in the mainstream, not just in gaming circles.
On the other hand, some developers appear to be feeling the bind of the industry changing and evolving. Those very games mentioned above are both good and bad for the video game business. The success of Fortnite has brought about a lot of change. Since the game is free-to-play, and simple to get your head around, more complicated games that cost $60 each are no longer the order of the day, for obvious reasons.
As touched upon, and is the case in every area of the entertainment industry, creators and developers have to be able to adapt and innovate. No company is better than that in gaming than Nintendo. As developers let go of large amounts of employees, and some close their doors for good, Nintendo’s workforce continues to grow with each passing year.
The last time the total number of Nintendo employees dropped was in 2016, and even then that drop was minimal. Since then, its numbers have increased year on year, and it is about to hit a milestone. As you can see from the graphic above, even if Nintendo’s growth slows to a snail’s pace between now and the end of the financial year in 2020, it will still surpass the 6,000 mark when it comes to total employees.
Chances are Nintendo’s worldwide employee count will be well above 6,000 by 2020. The developer has a busy year ahead, starting with the launch of the Switch Lite alongside Pokémon Sword and Shield. With rumors abound that a different, more powerful Switch is also in the works, Nintendo will need all of those 12,000+ hands on deck over the course of the next 12 months.
