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Downwell Developer Ojiro Fumoto Joins Nintendo

It's a new year full of new opportunities.

Kevin Tucker

January 23, 2018 1:45 PM

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Last year was massive for the video games industry, and so far as things are looking now, 2018 is shaping up nicely as well. Not only are there plenty of great video game releases planned for this year, some of the top talents in the industry are finding new homes and new opportunities to create. We heard earlier this week that famed developer Yuji Naka has joined up with Square Enix, and now we're learning that Downwell developer Ojiro Fumoto has just joined the team over at Nintendo.

Fumoto, who goes by the name of Moppin, first made a splash on the independent games development scene by releasing the stylish platformer Downwell for iOS and PC in October of 2015. His game would find its way to Android, PlayStation Vita, and the PlayStation 4 by the next year, and since then the game has managed to earn consistently good ratings over on Steam, where it holds an overwhelmingly positive review score from over 3,500 users.

Moppin first revealed that he'd moved to working with Nintendo via Facebook last December, but he took to Twitter just earlier today to remind his followers of his exciting new role. The original tweet is in Japanese, but reports indicate that it says, "Got a job at Nintendo! I'll do my best."

Unfortunately for PC gamers, it seems that Fumoko's role at Nintendo is likely to rule out any of his future games releasing for PC, at least not before some considerable amount of time has passed. Still, pairing up such a talented young developer with the biggest name in the industry can only be a good thing as far as players are concerned, and his next project is sure to pique the interest of the gaming scene at large. Until we hear more details on what sort of projects he'll be working on, players can still celebrate his past accomplishments by picking up Downwell for just $3 via Steam, the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, or for $5 via the PlayStation Store.

Kevin Tucker

Guides Editor

Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.