Summary
- Nintendo’s average employee salary is 9,627,000 yen per year, or around $62,000.
- Nintendo’s employee retention rate is an impressive 98.9% compared to Japan’s 70% average.
- The company’s salaries declined 2.3% in the last fiscal year, but may increase in 2025 with the launch of the Switch 2.
A new report has revealed the average annual salary at Nintendo, putting the company near the top of the best-paying businesses in its region. Nintendo is one of the biggest names in the Japanese gaming industry and is known to have talented developers who have stayed with the company for years, so it’s not surprising to see that it offers high salaries.
Despite being founded in 1889, Nintendo first entered the video game business in 1977. It achieved major acclaim with titles such as Donkey Kong in 1981, and Super Mario Bros in 1985, becoming one of the major global console manufacturers since then. Over the years, Nintendo maintained an incredible retention rate of employees. While Japan has an average employee retention of 70%, meaning that three in every ten employees hired by companies leave in less than three years, Nintendo reached a rate of 98.9%.
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Now, a report from Diamond Online (via Automaton) has revealed that the average Nintendo employee makes 9,627,000 yen per year ($62,000). Compared to other companies in Japan’s western Kansai region (excluding Osaka), Nintendo is the second best-paying company in the region, only losing to Screen Holdings, a semiconductor manufacturer. Curiously, Nintendo has shown salaries declining 2.3% when compared to the previous fiscal year, and Diamond Online speculated that this may be in line with the company’s drop in net sales in 2024.
How Much is the Average Annual Salary at Nintendo?
- 9,627,000 yen in the last fiscal year (around $62,000)
Back in 2023, Nintendo revealed how much its game directors made per year. At the time, the company revealed that Shigeru Miyamoto made 292 million yen ($2.02 million), while others such as Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa made 362 million yen ($2.51 million).
If average salaries could go up or down depending on the company’s profits, it’s likely that they will increase in 2025, as Nintendo officially revealed the Switch 2 last week. The new device will be larger than its predecessor and have an optical sensor and magnetic Joy-Cons. Unfortunately, the Switch 2 still does not have an official release date, but Nintendo has already hinted that fans will learn more during the Nintendo Direct stream, which will take place on April 2.
The Switch 2 will run most Switch titles, but its initial lineup is still unknown. Some rumors indicate that besides its first-party games, some Xbox games will be released on the Switch 2. The list, which was shared by the prominent leaker eXtas1s, includes Diablo 4, Fallout 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and Starfield.
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