Nintendo (NTDOY) announces the retirement of executive officer & legendary developer Takashi Tezuka

Takashi Tezuka worked on the Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda franchises since their inception.

Nintendo has announced that Takashi Tezuka will retire after 42 years with the company. In his time at Nintendo, Tezuka worked on Nintendo’s biggest franchises, helping to create some of gaming’s biggest sensations.

The announcement came via a notice of personnel changes of company officers that Nintendo issued alongside its latest earnings report. Takashi Tezuka will retire this summer on June 26, 2026.

The Nintendo executive got his start at the company in 1984 when he worked on Punch-Out!! Tezuka then worked as a designer and director on The Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. He went on to work on the many sequels spawned by these games, including Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. He was also a producer on the first Animal Crossing and Luigi’s Mansion games. He worked on Pikmin, Mario Kart, and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Tezuka has been a constant for Nintendo for the last four decades, and his retirement will come shortly after the Switch 2’s first anniversary. In addition to Tezuka’s retirement, Nintendo also announced its financial earnings, which included the news that the Nintendo Switch 2 is getting a price increase this September.

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