Takashi Tezuka, the storied director behind games like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario World, is retiring from Nintendo, the company has revealed. In Nintendo’s latest fiscal report, there is a note titled “Announcement of Personnel Changes of Company Officers,” and within it, news that Tezuka, an executive officer at the company, is retiring on June 26.
Tezuka, who co-created Yoshi and also directed The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, most recently served as the producer for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, but at age 65, he’s moving on from game development at the Kyoto-based company. He worked at Nintendo for more than four decades, having joined in 1984 at age 23. Over his 40-plus years at Nintendo, he has worked as a longtime collaborator with Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who serves as a representative director overseeing various projects there. Alongside Miyamoto, Tezuka has worked not only on The Legend of Zelda and Mario franchises but also on other Nintendo staples like Pikmin, Animal Crossing, and more.
Game Informer did a rapid-fire interview with Tezuka back in 2019, and if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a must-watch:
For more, read Game Informer’s list of the top 10 Nintendo Switch 2 games, and then check out our list of the top 10 Switch games. After that, read Game Informer’s industry round-up celebrating 40 years of The Legend of Zelda.
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