Nintendo has announced that legendary developer Takashi Tezuka will be retiring from his role as Executive Officer.

Tezuka-san is one of the most significant figures in Nintendo history, having served as a designer on the original Super Mario Bros., director on Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, and Super Mario World, and producer on countless iconic titles since.

His final credited work at the time of writing is Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup In Bellabel Park.

The retirement will be effective from 26th June 2026, and it’s also been confirmed that Takuya Yoshimura, Katsuhiro Umeyama, Keiko Akashi will also retire from their roles.

Meanwhile, subject to shareholder approval, senior director of the Auditing Department Yutaka Takenaga has been selected as a director candidate alongside Chika Saka, who has been selected as an Outside Director.

Now, it’s not 100% clear whether this means Tezuka-san will be retiring from Nintendo entirely, but that seems to be the implication here. We’ll follow up further if we hear any more details.

For now, thank you Tezuka-san. For everything!