A legendary Nintendo developer is slated to retire next month. Takashi Tezuka is retiring on June 26. Nintendo announced this news in a formal statement regarding personnel changes.
As part of Nintendo’s earnings report on May 8, 2026, the company confirmed that Takashi Tezuka will retire as of June 26. With this retirement, Nintendo loses one of its original game designers who worked on the formative years for franchises such as Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. He’s also credited as the co-designer of the iconic Yoshi character.
Takashi Tezuka Retires After Helping Build Nintendo History
While Shigeru Miyamoto is better known, Tezuka assisted on several legendary Nintendo games in the ’80s and also directed Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. In more recent years, he produced both Super Mario Maker games, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and Pikmin 4.
Miyamoto is fully dedicated to bringing iconic Nintendo characters to the big screen, and Tezuka has credits on both recent Super Mario movies as well. In 2023, Super Mario Bros. Movie was created as the Nintendo creative executive. Additional credits for Takashi Tezuka include Star Fox 64, Super Mario RPG on the Nintendo Switch, and several Yoshi titles.
Most of the major news from Nintendo’s earnings call concerns the rising price of the Nintendo Switch 2. American players will see a $50 increase for Nintendo’s latest console. These changes do not take effect until September. Learn more about them at this link.
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