Screenshot via Nintendo/YouTube

Nintendo now completely owns Monolith Soft, the developer behind the Xenoblade Chronicles series

The studio has also assisted in the development of many other games, like Breath of the Wild.

Monolith Software, creators of the excellent Xenoblade Chronicles franchise, is one of the biggest developers that’s working closely with Nintendo nowadays. The company’s higher-ups were very much aware of this valuable partnership, seeing as the Big N now fully owns the studio.

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, Monolith Soft recently updated its , and now it lists Nintendo as owning 100% of the studio. This is especially interesting because, back in March 2024, that revealed that its founders, Tetsuya Takahashi, Yasuyuki Honne and Hirohide Sugiura, shared 4% of its ownership. So it seems that they transferred this percentage over to Nintendo, so now the gaming gāœØiant can have full control of it.

This isn’t much of a surprise, however, because Nintendo actually bought Monolith Soft back in 2007, but it still had to share part of it with the previous owner, Bandai Namco, until it raised its stake to 96% later, in 2011. But now, the Big N finally has complete control, and it seems like the perfect time for this acquisition, considering that Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is coming out in March 2025.

Monolith Soft already did a lot for Nintendo anyway

Official gameplay of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Developed by Monolith Soft, Published by Nintendo)
Image via

This full acquisition was both inevitable and crucial for Nintendo. For starters, Monolith Software is entirely responsible for every single Xenoblade Chronicles game, including multiple remasters and expansions. This is one of the highest-quality and most beloved š“ƒ²modern JRPG franchises, and the fact every single entry is exclusive to a Nintendo system has certainly helped the bā™‘rand.

But if that wasn’t already enough, that have nothing to do with the Xenoblade Chronicles IP. Its developers assisted in the development of Pikmin 3, Splatoon 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and more. But their most important contribution was their assistance in the making ofĀ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, one of šŸ’«the most ambitious, successful, and influential video gš•“ames that Nintendo has ever released. Needless to say, Monolith Soft is very important for this gaming giant, and hopefully, its developers will get to work on many other exciting projects now that Nintendo owns 100% of it.


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JuliƔn F.L.
Freelance Contributor: JuliĆ”n has been a passionate fan of video games, anime & manga for as long as he can remember. He has over 10 years of experience writing about these topics on the internet, and has collaborated with many outlets, and now he's ecstatic to join Destructoid. He greatly enjoys Hack & Slash games, 2D & 3D platformers, action Shōnen manga and kaiju films.