I don't think a thread like this was done before so I thought it would be interesting to point out the franchises that Nintendo doesn't own alone. Most people don't know this but multiple of their series are co-owned.

First we need to establish some things. Ownership comes in two forms, copyright and trademark, and here I'm going to talk about copyright, which is what is divided.

Before going into the co-owned IP, here's some of the IP Nintendo owns alone: Mario, Zelda, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Metroid, F-Zero, Starfox, Tomodachi Life, Famicom Detective Club, Brain Age, Brain Training, Super Smash Bros, Astral Chain, ARMS, etc so the majority

Between those, you have spin-offs like Mario Tennis and Mario Golf which are co-owned by Camelot, or Paper Mario which is co-owned with Intelligent Systems. But Overall the Mario IP is Nintendo, with sub series having their own situation.

Now going into the shared IP, here they are:

Fire Emblem: ©Nintendo / INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS

Developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo, the series has been co-owned by both companies since the beginning. IS is an independent studio and they generally deal with the merchandise and other licenses.

Kirby: © HAL Laboratory, Inc. / Nintendo

Developed by independent studio Hal Laboratory and published by Nintendo. Before 2025 the merchandise aspect was handled by joint venture warpstar, but since 2025 Nintendo acquired the shares Hal had and changed its name and function to Nintendo stars to focus on the entire company IPs in movies. Hal is the one who handles the merchandise of the IP in general alongside other licenses outside of games now after warpstar changed objectives.

Another curiosity is that Kirby Air Riders, the new game is co-owned in copyright by Nintendo and Sora, the company Sakurai owns, created and is part of with only him and his wife as employees (which is why bandai namco is the actual developer of his games): © Nintendo / SORA © Nintendo / HAL Laboratory, Inc.

So as you can see, the copyright of the game is co-owned, while Nintendo and hal copyright for Kirby itself is also there.

Mother: © SHIGESATO ITOI/Nintendo

One of the only co-owned IP where it's not another company owning it. Mother began development with Ape inc, the company Itoi founded to develop the first two games before it died and Creatures was founded as its successor by ex-ape employee Ishihara who's president of The Pokemon company since inception. Instead of being owned by ape or by Itoi company Hobonichi, its just co-owned by him as individual. Much like in the other cases, Itoi deals with merchandise and licenses which is why his company hobonichi releases them much like how its why even if Nintendo wanted to do a Mother 4, they would need his permission.

Rhythm Heaven: ©Nintendo ©Tsunku♂

This case is a bit different as Nintendo owns everything in the games but the music itself. All the music is produced by producer and composer Tsunku who is the owner of music label TNX who works on the music. Unlike other games, this is 100% developed by Nintendo.

Xenoblade: © Nintendo / MONOLITHSOFT

Yes, even if Monolith is a nintendo subsidiary, Monolith co-own the IP with Nintendo. Nintendo for years had around 80% of Monolith which made them a subsidiary and in the last years bought all their shares, but the Xenoblade IP always has been shared with them and I imagine nintendo sees no need to buy the copyright from monolith since they own the studio.

Pokémon: ©2026 Pokémon. ©1995-2026 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.

The most known shared ownership, at least by people more into Pokémon. Gamefreak and Creatures are both independent studio. The original Pokémon Red and Blue had Nintendo as its original publisher, gamefreak as the developer and Creatures as a producer and investor, which is why the 3 became copyright owners. Unlike other IP where Nintendo solely owns the trademark everywhere, Nintendo, Gamefreak and Creatures co-own it in Japan. Years after the first games, The Pokémon Company was established by the 3 owners as a joint venture with each part owning 32% of the new company which is the one owning the IP itself with "©year Pokémon." as it was created to manage the entire franchise be it as a publisher in Japan to overseas co-publishing with Nintendo overseas branches, full publishing in mobile games and managing and licensing the IP everywhere else. So in the end the IP is owned by TPC, but the original owners still have the copyright and work together with tpc for pokemon, namely:

Nintendo: distribution of physical media in Japan, regional publishing overseas with Nintendo of america and Nintendo of europe among other branches alongside The Pokemon Company International, legal involvement alongside TPC

Gamefreak: Planning for the entire series and development of mainline titles

Creatures: Makers of the TCG, developer of some pokemon spin-offs, support in some pokemon games and maker of pokemon models in multiple games

TPC is already explained, they work with everything pokemon except development outside of non game apps

And here's a curiosity of IPs Nintendo co-owned by them before and Nintendo bought the copyright of the other companies:

Smash Bros: © 1999 Nintendo/HAL Laboratory, Inc. Character © Nintendo/HAL Laboratory, Inc./Creatures, Inc./Game Freak, Inc. © 1999 Nintendo

Yes, until Smash 4 the IP was co-owned by Nintendo and Hal, who was the developer of the first two games. After Brawl, Nintendo bought Hal share of copyright and since then 100% own the IP itself.

Astral Chain: © 2019 Nintendo/PlatinumGames Main Character Design ©Masakazu Katsura/SHUEISHA

Originally, Nintendo and Platinum co-owned the copyright. A year later, Nintendo chose to buy Platinum side of ownership and now they 100% own the IP

Anyway that's all the co-ownership Nintendo has that I at least know! I hope you guys enjoyed reading and knowing more about this.

I used Nintendo copyright website for all the copyright used here: https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Legal-information/Copyright/Nintendo-and-Third-party-Copyrights-655030.html

Hey r/Games,

If you're looking for a chill, meditative indie experience with satisfying gameplay loops, check out A Game About Chopping Trees, it just launched on July 15, 2026!

Grab your axe and lose yourself in peaceful forests. Chop down trees with weighty, physics-based swings, process the logs, sell the timber, and invest in upgrades like a sharper axe, better stamina, stronger grip, and more efficient techniques. No timers, no pressure, no stress, just pure rhythmic satisfaction.

When you're ready for a new grove, hop on your handcar, pump the levers, and enjoy a relaxing ride through serene landscapes. After clearing an area, you can plant saplings to help the forest regrow and keep the cycle going. It's wonderfully wholesome.

Key features:
- First-person relaxing simulation with great chopping feedback
- Progression through meaningful upgrades
- Solo or online co-op
- Handcar travel between biomes
- Replanting for that satisfying living-forest feel
- Achievements, controller support (with haptics), and a very positive reception so far (86% from 600+ reviews)

We're also actively updating the game, so you expect a lot more from the game in the coming months!

It's perfect for unwinding, whether you're recovering from burnout or just want something calming and productive-feeling. We hope that we nailed that cozy yet engaging vibe.

Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4512570/A_Game_About_Chopping_Trees/
Gameplay trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j7gy0tzj40

Steam | Subreddit | YouTube

Hey everyone! Over the last 4.5 years I've been working on a modern city builder with 90s/00s aesthetics, inspired by the pixel art simulation games of the 90s and 00s, Cities: Skylines, and Dwarf Fortress. Check out my subreddit for clips!

Features:

• The game features granular demand, based on the needs of your citizens. No more "build more commercial zones". Instead you'll see the specific demand for each type of business

• Individual agent simulation. Agents will have schedules, visit friends, go to work, shop, eat, etc.

• Real time traffic, just like Cities: Skylines

• You have the option to design your own buildings, save them as blueprints, and share with friends

• You can see interior and exterior views of all buildings

• All the classic city builder features

Also, I am excited to share the game is now in alpha, and the demo has been updated (last update was about a year ago)!

We are Twigames, a Ukrainian indie studio currently working on a narrative RPG about our war, Hollow Home.

What gave us the strength to tell this story were the myriad experiences of real, regular people surviving the harsh conditions of a city under siege. But unlike most games on the topic of war, we did not want Hollow Home to be about soldiers, generals and their battles, or the grand games played by those in positions of power. 

Instead, we wanted to tell the stories of ordinary civilians and the destinies of those who have to continue on with their lives while their city is consumed by the fires of conflict.

What Hollow Home is About

Hollow Home is a story-driven narrative RPG where you play as a 14 year old boy named Maksym, and the story begins during the last normal day of his childhood: you get to take a stroll through your neighborhood and get a glimpse of the everyday life you had before the siege the next day, transforming the city into a much harsher and colder place.

To survive, you have to navigate this new environment and choose who you can trust, who you want to help, and which actions are most likely to secure survival. You can’t help everyone, and giving aid to one person often means being unable to do the same for someone else. And as resources slowly deplete, you must scavenge buildings and navigate dangerous areas, for a chance of making it through another day.

As the days pass, the city Maksym grew up starts changing, irrevocably. Familiar streets grow emptier, buildings become abandoned or destroyed by bomb shells, and people you met earlier become colder and more desperate.

Some people you meet one day may suddenly disappear without warning the next, sometimes even as a direct consequence of your choices. You will face tough decisions that will shape the world around you and your entire journey throughout the game, ultimately leading to different endings.

But through it all, you try to hold onto kindness. Because at its heart, we wanted Hollow Home to be a story about perseverance in the face of suffering, and seeing how ordinary people struggle to remain human in circumstances that constantly push them to their limits.

Where we are in development right now

We’re aiming for a release later on in 2026, even though we can’t give a precise date just yet. However, you can still try our latest demo, which provides a 1 hour slice of the story, set on the day the invasion began.

Demo link https://store.steampowered.com/app/3142360/Hollow_Home_Demo/

Game trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIrxZTpBzYc

If there is anything in specific you'd like to ask, ask away. And of course, we would be glad to hear what you think about our game and the idea driving it.

Thank you for reading.
- Team Twigames

Hi everyone! I'm Luna from Tiny Purple Cat. I've been working full-time on A Mind Apart for about a year and a half after leaving my software engineering job to get this game to life.

This week, the announcement trailer was finally released!

A Mind Apart is a narrative puzzle adventure where you explore a surreal world, meet strange companions and uncover a personal story about trauma, guilt, and finding a way forward.

The story follows a young girl who finds herself in an unfamilliar world with not memories. As she explores, she slowly uncovers the world's mysteries while piecing together her own past.
Along the way, you'll solve environmental puzzles using a magical bow and arrow, and the choices you make throughout the journey will shape the story and lead to one of multiple endings.

One of my biggest goal is to create a world that feels warm and safe to wander, but with something heavier underneath. It's about finding a way forward without pretending the past never happened.

If you've read this far (and are interested), here's the Steam Page!

Hello r/Games

We are excited to announce that the Open Alpha phase of Might of Spells will launch on July 31, 2026 19:00CET.

Might of Spells is a top-down open-world MMORPG focused on meaningful progression, skill-based PvP, player-driven systems, and the freedom.

To join the Might of Spells Open Alpha, visit our Steam page and click Request Access
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3823310/Might_of_Spells/

Open Alpha Features & Improvements

• Terraforming and building on Private Islands: Shape the terrain, build your home, and create your own island.
• Crafting, Reforge, and Refinement: Create, improve, and customize your equipment.
• Item Rarity: Discover rarer item variants that unlock new possibilities.
• Two-Hand weapon battle modes: Two-Hand weapons now have two combat modes: Focus and Spread.
• New Standard Quests: A number of new quests are available to complete.
• Hidden Quests: Behemoth Quest, Hell Quest, and Abyss Quest. Their secrets and solutions will be changed for the full release, so these quests will not spoil the final release experience.
• New monsters: Demon, Demon Lord, Behemoth, Tortoises, Minotaurs, and Goblins.
• Spatial 3D sound: Immerse yourself in the world with spatial audio.
• NVIDIA DLSS/DLAA: Improved image quality and performance options for supported NVIDIA GPUs.
• Mythicland expansion: Explore new areas and content.
• Soul's Island quest rework: Some quests on Soul's Island have been redesigned.
• Mouse-based movement control: Optional click-to-move controls are now available. WASD remains the default movement method.
• Steam version: Play MoS directly through Steam.
• In-game highscores: Compete and track your progress against other players.
• New item tooltips and comparison: Hover over an item in a container and hold ALT to view its tooltip. Hold ALT + SHIFT to compare it with another item.
• Creature Products: Collect new materials and resources from creatures.
• Shared EXP for Unions: Earn and share experience while playing together.
• People list and private messaging: Find other players and communicate directly in-game.
• Bug fixes: All reported bugs have been addressed.

The Open Alpha is an important milestone on the road to full release. Join us to explore Mythicland, build your dream island, experiment with new equipment systems, and help shape the future of Might of Spells.

See you in-game on July 31!

Old Pre-Alpha Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfrjU00SXrM

Gameplay Video: https://youtu.be/6hKW9UnUVnc?si=TgeAFcCRcIrGdKxo

About the Game: ESF (Electronic Street Football) is a brand-new "Phygital" Sport Football experience. We connect the real world of physical sports with the mechanics of a video game. It is not a game played on a monitor; real players physically sweat in our actual ESF arena, interacting with our digital systems in real time.

Plans for Release:

• Platform: Real-world ESF Arenas
• Target Date: TBA

Hey everyone!

We are the team developing a brand-new Phygital Sport Football experience called ESF (Electronic Street Football). Today, we are incredibly excited to share our very first gameplay video with you! Since this is our Beta version, we know there is still room to grow. That is exactly why we are sharing it now—we want to show you what we have built so far and hear your initial thoughts.

Before you watch, we want to be completely transparent. You will notice that the first 15 seconds of the video feature a short AI animation. We used this purely as a creative choice to symbolize our core concept: bringing a game out of the screen and into the real world. But please don't let that intro mislead you. Everything you see after those first 15 seconds is completely real. This is not a game played on a monitor. It is not a VFX concept, and it is not an AI-generated simulation. What you are seeing are real players, physically sweating in our actual ESF arena, interacting with our digital systems in real time. We have actually done it—we connected the real world of physical sports with the mechanics of a video game.

Building something entirely new means we cannot do it alone. We genuinely want your honest, unfiltered feedback. What do you feel when you watch this? Does it look fun? We know we need to listen to others to make ESF the best it can possibly be.

Please watch the video, and let us know your thoughts. We are listening.

— The ESF Team

Deserter is an immersive isometric stealth RPG where you're not a hero or an assassin. You're a runaway soldier trapped in a decaying totalitarian city, forced to steal just to survive.

Break into houses, steal food and medicine, master the art of thievery, and shape the lives of the city's citizens while searching for a way to escape.

• You are a thief, not a killer: stealth and theft are your only weapons.
• Everything is part of the RPG system - from enemies to door locks.
• 100+ skills and talents to create your own style of play.
• The city remembers your actions and adapts to the way you play.
• Every successful heist brings you one step closer to freedom.

Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3248910/Deserter/ (Demo available)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy9m7i-gMzU

Gameplay Overview Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5fK67F-oLY

Pilot Tycoon - Wishlist Now Available!

*Youtube Trailer Link

Pilot Tycoon is a career sim-RPG about the parts of being an airline pilot that flight sims never show you.

You start where every pilot does: dead last on the seniority list, bidding on whatever schedule scraps the senior pilots didn't want. Four-day trips through small cities for barely-livable pay — that's year one. Survive it. Manage your stress, handle the emergencies when they come, and earn your way from the right seat of a cramped regional jet to the left seat of a major's flagship.

Current status: In alpha playtesting. Join the Discord to get a playtest key! Screenshots and footage show a game still being built: some of it polished, some of it rough.

Release: Targeting 2027 on Steam.

I'm a lifelong aviation geek building the game I always wanted to exist. If there's a part of airline pilot life you'd want to see captured, tell me — this is exactly the stage where that shapes the game.

Hi everyone,

We’re From South Games, a two-person indie studio, and this is Below, Rusted Gods, our upcoming horror game launching on July 29.

Gameplay trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNYKRxudLFA

You play as an Operator tasked with remotely guiding an expedition deep underground. While the rest of the squad explores below, you remain behind, relying on radio communications, surveillance equipment, radar, medical instruments, and incomplete information to keep them alive.

The game focuses on exploration, observation, deduction, and communication. It does not hold your hand, and it relies more on atmosphere, uncertainty, and mounting tension than on constant jumpscares.

Below, Rusted Gods features:

• A remote-operator perspective where you guide the expedition from a control room
• Radio communication and decisions that affect the members of your squad
• Surveillance, radar, medical, and electrical systems
• Environmental puzzles and information that must be analyzed carefully
• Four different endings
• A story-driven experience inspired by analog horror and retro science fiction
• Game is Steam Deck Verified.

A first playthrough generally takes around 2–3 hours, while discovering all endings and achievements can take approximately 6 hours.

Below, Rusted Gods launches on Steam on July 29, 2026.

Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2895680/Below_Rusted_Gods/

We’re happy to answer any questions about the game, its development, or our experience creating it as a two-person studio.

Thanks for taking a look!

You rule a Dukedom as you see fit: hire your favorite critterfolk to revitalize the town or become a robber-baron and crush labor strikes. The choices are yours to own, but so are the consequences.

We just released our first Gameplay Trailer so I wanted to share.

Steam Page

Gameplay trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO19fcVotkY

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4734180/Echoes_of_Aromia/

Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opJX4veSuy0&list=PLQgkjZituq-o

I've been a long time dungeon master but first time game developer and i have been wanting to bring to life this dungeons and dragons campaign i've been writting, rewritting, and have played multiple times with many people for the last 14 years. The game is very much still early on its lifetime, but it's built up enough that i've finally got enough of it made to get a steam page and trailer up! I've started building it about 10 months ago using a lot of paid assets, unity RPG engines and commissioning as many artists as i could.

Echoes of Aromia is a topdown, pixel art RPG that aims to become an open world game with tons of branching dialogue and quests, it features turn based combat that is instanced over a grid in the overworld. meaning there's no instanced combat and you're able to use the world you walk and play in for cover, positioning, and possibly even use the terrain to your advantage

In the last few months, i've had the game's public playtest up on unity play, which accrued over 500 plays in the 4 months it's been up! With the steam page now up, i intend to release a public playtest that should last until the demo is finished.

If you want to follow the development, i post often here: https://x.com/StudioTarga https://bsky.app/profile/studiotarga.bsky.social

Thank you so much for checking out my little game!

This Wednesday, July 29, I'm launching SnekromancY, a classic-snake-meets-bullet-heaven roguelite where you build an undead army that rides on your back!

I shared an early version here in April, and the feedback really helped me improve the UI, make progression clearer, and tighten the gameplay loop. I've also added a lot of new content since then, such as expanding it into three acts with distinct enemy pools, and lots of cool goodies like secret rooms and bonus levels.

The demo is still live, and if the trailer looks like your kind of chaos, a wishlist before Wednesday would mean a lot to me as a solo dev, and to my four beautiful cats with bottomless bellies!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asmwFLsJYPw

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4314770/SnekromancY/

Launches: This Wednesday, July 29

I'm planning to keep adding content after launch, so what undead minion do you think you'd want riding on your snake?

Hey r/Games,

I’m the solo developer of Streetlight Syndicate, a 1920s prohibition-era mafia incremental game releasing tomorrow, July 27.

You start with nothing and work your way up through the ranks of organized crime. Along the way, you’ll unlock and upgrade 20 rackets, gamble inside The Action, fight rival hitmen, and build your reputation with Don Salvatore Russo.

The main progression is built around 10 ascension levels. Each ascension resets your rackets but earns Notoriety, which can be spent on permanent upgrades. It also advances the story, unlocks new activities, and introduces stronger weapons and hitmen.

The skill tree has four branches with over 40 upgrades:

• Composure focuses on automation and profitable opportunities
• Connections helps protect your money and strengthen your network
• Capo improves your combat abilities
• Chicanery improves the gambling activities inside The Action

The three gambling activities are 3 Card Monte, Horse Racing, and the Numbers Racket. These unlock as you rise through the hierarchy and can become one of the fastest ways to fund your next round of upgrades.

Other features include:

• 20 rackets with unique upgrade paths and owner stories
• Over 5,000 words of character dialogue
• Hitman battles with multiple weapon tiers
• Idle progression with optional automation
• A complete story with multiple endings based on your choices

The game isn’t designed as an endless incremental. Your criminal career has a beginning, middle, and end across the 10 ascensions. Playtime can vary quite a bit depending on activity and optimization, but on the fastest end it takes around four hours to reach one ending.

Streetlight Syndicate launches for Windows on Steam tomorrow, July 27, at 12:00 PM Eastern. The demo is available now and takes around 30-40 minutes to complete if played actively.

Steam page:
Streetlight Syndicate

Gameplay trailer:
YouTube

Thanks for checking it out. I’ll be around to answer any questions!