As Nintendo continues to celebrate Milestones like the 40th anniversaries of the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda franchises, key developers from Nintendo’s history are entering the next phases of their lives as well.
Legendary producer Kensuke Tanabe recently announced that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be his final game at Nintendo. The news was shared in an interview with the Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, which was later posted on Weibo.
Kensuke Tanabe Confirms He’s Worked On His Last Title at Nintendo
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Tanabe confirmed that he will no longer be involved in the studio’s production, but trusts that Risa Tabata and the team at Retro Studios will be able to continue moving forward should that be what Nintendo requests.
Completing this game took far longer than anticipated… Furthermore, I have confirmed that I will no longer be involved in the production of the series moving forward. Whether a sequel will be made is still uncertain, but I sincerely hope that one day, Ms Tabata and Retro Studios will be able to tell this story completely and bring it to a close.
It’s been 40 years since I joined Nintendo. Metroid Prime 4 will be my final title developed at Nintendo.
However, we didn’t set out to create anything ‘special’ because of this. Instead, we worked closely with Retro Studios, just as we always have with Nintendo projects, aiming to deliver a fun and unique experience for players of all ages and playstyles.
Hideki Konno Also Wrapped Up His Career at Nintendo Recently
Following news about Tanabe, it was also confirmed that Hideki Konno, known for launching the Mario Kart franchise, left the studio in July 2025.
The news was confirmed via his private Facebook account. He received a special thanks credit in the recent Mario Kart World release and last worked on the Mario Kart 8: Deluxe DLC for the original Nintendo Switch.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind the Mario and Zelda franchises, remains on board at Nintendo. Currently, he has been working closely with Universal on the release of the Super Mario Bros. movies. The forthcoming Super Mario Galaxy movie is due to release in April 2026. A Nintendo Direct will reveal new information about the movie on January 25. Learn more about that here.
How do you feel about these legendary names wrapping up their careers? Are you excited for new producers and directors to take the reins of these legendary franchises or perhaps create new ones? Sound off in our official Discord server. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Metroid Prime 4 flopped. Thought the studio would close but guess they just fired him instead.