Nintendo of America is undergoing a significant restructuring at its testing center in Washington state, resulting in a substantial downsizing of its contractor workforce. The changes come amidst industry-wide layoffs and the reported delay of the launch of a successor to the Nintendo Switch until 2025.

The restructuring involves the conversion of some contractors to full-time employees, while others are facing layoffs. This move has been long-awaited by contractors who have been advocating for fair employment status. Nintendo has confirmed that the changes will lead to the creation of a significant number of new full-time positions, with impacted contractors receiving severance packages.

A spokesperson for Nintendo stated, “Nintendo of America (NOA) has reorganized its Product Testing functions to drive greater global integration in game development efforts. The changes will also better align NOA with interregional testing procedures and operations.”

While the exact number of employees affected by the restructuring remains unclear, it is estimated that over 100 contractors could be impacted. Most of the contractors being converted to full-time status are reportedly being moved out of software testing. This marks the first mass layoff at Nintendo in recent times, following similar cuts at competitors like Sony and Microsoft earlier this year.