Nintendo is shuttering its offices in Redwood City, California and Toronto, Ontario — a move that will reportedly affect more than 100 employees. The decision coincides with the reported resignation of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Nick Chavez, who will be leaving Nintendo to join Kentucky Fried Chicken.
First reported by Kotaku, Nintendo of America confirmed that the offices would be closing in a statement to IGN.
“Nintendo of America headquarters are in Redmond, WA, and Vancouver, BC. We are moving more of our employees and operations into those headquarters and will be closing small satellite offices in Toronto, ON, and Redwood City, CA, over time,” the statement says.
It continues, “Devon Pritchard, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Publisher Relations for Nintendo of America (NOA), will assume interim leadership of Sales, Marketing and Communications following the departure of Nick Chavez. Ms. Pritchard will oversee strategy and execution of sales, marketing and communications across the U.S. and Canada.”
According to Kotaku, staff were reportedly “upset” by the decision to close the Redwood City office.
Until their closure, the Redwood City and Toronto locations were satellite offices that primarily housed Nintendo’s sales and marketing teams. IGN was in the Redwood City office last month to see the Switch OLED and play Metroid Dread, and the location was almost totally empty.
Like many other companies, Nintendo has had to scramble to adapt to new work from home protocols and other issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that this is an attempt to consolidate its physical offices as the pandemic wears on.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.