Yesterday, veteran game developer and WarioWare series creator Goro Abe revealed that he had left Nintendo after almost 30 years at the company. However, fans of his work will be happy to know that he plans to continue making games, albeit in a slightly different capacity.
As of February 2026, Abe left Nintendo to take up an academic role at Osaka Electro-Communication University, where he’ll become a professor at the newly established “Games For Social Design Department.”
In an update on his personal X account, Abe wrote on March 10 that becoming a professor doesn’t mean he’ll be retiring from game creation. He plans to continue making games, particularly small and experimental titles where he can dabble in mechanics not commonly seen in commercial games. He’ll also be dedicated to bringing together academia and the game industry through development of gamified social services.
Abe also expressed positive sentiments toward Nintendo, commenting that he’s excited to see how the company and the WarioWare series will evolve going forward.
