Nintendo acquires developer of Hogwarts Legacy's Switch port

Nintendo has announced that it will acquire Shiver Entertainment, the studio behind the Switch ports of Mortal Kombat 1 and Hogwarts Legacy, from Embracer Group.

The details:

• Nintendo has announced that the deal with Embracer, which is currently "pending satisfaction," will see it acquire 100% of Shiver's shares, turning it into a subsidiary of the Japanese company. "By welcoming Shiver's experienced and accomplished development team, Nintendo aims to secure high-level resources for porting and developing software titles," Nintendo said. "Going forward, even after it becomes a part of the Nintendo group, Shiver's focus will remain the same, continuing commissions that port and develop software for multiple platforms including Nintendo Switch."

• Shiver was founded in 2012 and developed 2018's Scribblenauts Showdown before moving on to Mortal Kombat 1 and Hogwarts Legacy ports. While the latter received average reviews due to the compromises made to run on aging hardware, Mortal Kombat 1 was criticized for its poor graphics and bugs, despite its $70 price tag.

• This is Nintendo's first acquisition since 2022 when it bought long-time partner SRD, as well as Dynamo Pictures (now Nintendo Pictures). Prior to that, it acquired Next Level Games in 2021 and Xenoblade developer Monolith Soft back in 2007.

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