One of Nintendo’s Most Important Developers Is Leaving the Company

Nintendo has been a dominant force in the world of gaming for decades, with the NES reshaping the console landscape at a crucial junction for the medium. Since then, many of the influential creatives who helped shape the company into what it is today have remained a part of the brand, working on a variety of titles for multiple platforms. This is quietly one of the main reasons Nintendo remains as consistent as ever.

However, it is a matter of time before it comes for everyone, including Nintendo creatives. Increasingly, some of the most influential figures in Nintendo’s history have been retiring or departing the company, leaving behind a major legacy. The latest stings particularly hard, however, because of the sheer number of games he was crucial in getting across the finish line.

Nintendo Bids Farewell To Hideki Konno

Nintendo fans have to say goodbye to Hideki Konno, as the legendary game designer is formally stepping away from the company after nearly forty years. Konno has confirmed that this departure has been in the works since July 2025 — which might explain why the credits of Mario Kart World gave him a special thanks, without listing him in any specific role on the game. Konno has been an enduring prescene at Nintendo for decades, getting his start at the company in 1986 when he joined the development of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (and subsequently Super Mario Bros. 2, which was famously a re-skin of that Japan-only game) as a designer and assistant director.

Konno became a prominent game director with Ice Hockey in 1988 and SimCity in 1991 before going on to helm the production of Super Mario Kart, Yoshi’s Island, Mario Kart 64, and Luigi’s Mansion. He’s also been involved with plenty of other Nintendo franchises, including the Legend of Zelda, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem, and F-Zero. Konno was also the primary manager of Nintendo’s mobile projects, serving as a key producer on Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. While it’s not initally clear if Konno is formally retiring from the games industry as a whole or if he is just shifting to another company, his nearly forty years of work in service of the medium means he’s left an impression that continues to inspire fans decades later.

Konno’s Departure Is Just The Latest Change At Nintendo

Nintendo has notably relied on many of the same core game designers and developers for years, which could be one of the reasons the publisher’s output has typically been so consistent. However, it also highlights a challenge that the company was going to inevitably face: the unescapable reality of time. As the years go on, the primary developers behind some of Nintendo’s biggest IPs are simply going to hit retirement age. Luckily, the good work they have done in establishing the bedrock of the Nintendo brand means that plenty of new creatives have been able to carry the torch forward. This is especially true for Konno’s work, which includes the Mario Kart series and has already expanded beyond his influence thanks to games like Mario Kart World.

Initally the director of the early entries in the game, Konn,o gradually became a producer on the later titles. This ensured his advice remained central to the developer’s approach, but allowed them the room to turn games like Mario Kart World into their own thing. Notably, Konno isn’t the only high-profile departure for the company. Konno’s decision to leave Nintendo coincides with the retirement of Kensuke Tanabe, who had previously worked on several franchises, including Metroid.

Other legendary creatives at the company, like Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma, are still a part of the Nintendo team — but are also growing older with each passing year. It’s inevitable that the developers behind Nintendo’s most beloved games were eventually going to have to move on, but it doesn’t make that reality any less emotional. Konno’s work on games like Yoshi’s Island still impacts players today (that game was the first one this writer ever played the whole way through), and will continue to do so for generations to come. While Konno’s departure is sad, it’s important to remember that his legacy isn’t going anywhere.