Mysterious job ad for a Japanese studio mentions developing next-generation consoles
Fans are theorizing it's Nintendo - but it's not the only studio in the area
A mysterious job ad that was looking for developers to work on next-generation consoles has got fans thinking about the Nintendo Switch Pro.
As found on Resetera, a "famous" but unnamed video game developer in Kyoto, Japan is looking for someone to help develop next-generation game consoles. The ad, which was live on the Japanese job board Adecco, has since been taken down but some of the job listing has been machine translated and shared to the online forum.
According to the user that found the listing, the job advert was searching for someone to be "involved in the development and modification of next-generation hardware for a famous game company." By the sounds of the advert, this company is pretty well known as requires a high level of security when developing such big projects.
Many people in the replies to the thread have instinctively thought of Nintendo, who do have a development center in Kyoto. Although it's fun to theorize that Nintendo is currently working away on the Nintendo Switch Pro, one detail found in the job listing opens the ad up to several other developers in Japan.
According to the Resetera post, the job listing requires the successful applicant to work "in a dedicated security room in the client's Osaka office." A quick Google search has revealed that Nintendo doesn't have an office in Osaka, Japan - at least not one well-known to the public anyway.
The only other notable studio in Kyoto is Monolith Soft - who you may remember as the developer of several of Nintendo's Xenoblade games. Another one of Nintendo's neighbors is Jupiter Corporation, another frequent Nintendo collaborator. As for Osaka, we've got the likes of Capcom, Ubisoft Osaka, Platinum Games, and more.
Although not impossible, it's pretty unlikely that any of the studios mentioned here would be developing a next-generation console. It's probably worth mentioning that Sony also has a number of offices across Japan - although it's unclear how many of these branches are used to develop PlayStation products.
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Since there's not a lot to go off of here, it's tricky to say which studio this mysterious advert came from. Out of the possible studios in both Kyoto and Osaka, Nintendo does seem the most likely one, especially since there's been so much speculation over the years about a new Nintendo Switch console currently in development.
While we wait to find out what next-gen consoles are on the way, take a look at our upcoming Switch games and upcoming PS5 games lists.
After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at 12DOVE before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.