WarioWare director Goro Abe leaves Nintendo after 25+ years

Goro Abe, best known for his work on Nintendo’s WarioWare series, has left Nintendo after almost 30 years with the Japanese company.

Abe is leaving to take up a professorial role at Osaka Electro-Communication University, where he’ll teach at the new Game and Social Design department.

“I retired from Nintendo at the end of February,” Abe announced on X/Twitter earlier today (machine translated).

“From April, I will be working as a professor at Osaka Electro-Communication University. I will be affiliated with the newly established ‘Game and Social Design’ department.

“I plan to work on game-related research and development, so I hope to be able to interact with a wider range of people than ever before.”

His final directorial game was WarioWare: Move It!, which released in 2023.

Abe’s exit comes after a report last summer revealed employees at Nintendo Japan tend to stay with the company for an average 14.4 years, Nintendo of Europe colleagues stay on for an average 11.1 years, and Nintendo of America, 10 years. Nintendo Australia staff tend to stay with the company for 8.5 years.