Although Nintendo has been repeatedly criticized for its game pricing strategies and copyright policies, its employee treatment has long been recognized by the industry. Against the background of frequent large-scale layoffs in the gaming industry, the company's latest public data reveals that its employee stability is significantly higher than the industry level.
According to a statistical report released in July 2025 (April 2024-March 2025): Nintendo's global employee retention rate is 98%, and the proportion of annual voluntary resignations and layoffs is extremely low. The employee turnover rate at the Japanese headquarters is only 1.9%, and the turnover rate at the U.S. branch is 5.1%. At the same time, in terms of length of service, the average Japanese employee has been employed for more than 14 years, and the average American employee has been employed for 10 years.
This data is in stark contrast to the recent turmoil in the Western gaming industry. Take Virtuous Studio as an example. Although the "The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered" it developed has performed well in the market, there is still news that it will lay off 300 people. Not only that, many major game companies have laid off serious employees. For example, Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees in early 2025, Sony recently laid off 900 employees, and so on.
Nintendo's ability to maintain a stable talent pool despite the trend may be due to its continued and stable game release rhythm and the market success of the Switch 2 handheld console. What do you think about this? Welcome to discuss in the comment area.