Nintendo has just denied a recent rumor that employees at its Mario Club Co., Ltd subsidiary are being laid off. Layoffs have become an increasing occurrence throughout the game industry over the past year or so, with big-name studios and indie developers reportedly cutting down on their workforces due to low sales, corporate downsizing, or other reasons. For example, Velan Studios, which worked with Nintendo on Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, sent layoff notices to about a third of its workers back in March following the cancelation of a major project.  

This wasn't the only Nintendo-related company faced with news of layoffs, as it was claimed that Mario Club Co., Ltd. was letting go of roughly 150 of its 400 employees earlier this week. For the uninitiated, Mario Club Co., Ltd. is a game-testing and debugging team that has worked on many Nintendo games since Dr. Mario back in 1990, with some of its most recent projects including Luigi's Mansion 2 HD, Princess Peach: Showtime, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.