Grezzo
Japanese video game developer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grezzo Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社グレッゾ, Hepburn: Kabushiki Gaisha Gurezzo; stylized as GREZZO) is a Japanese video game developer. Founded in December 2006, it is best known for developing installments in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series.[1] Koichi Ishii, known for his work on the Mana series of games by Square Enix, serves as CEO and president. The company's name comes from the Italian expression "diamante grezzo", meaning 'a diamond in the rough'.[2]
 | |
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 2006[1] |
| Headquarters | Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan[1] |
Key people | Koichi Ishii (CEO/president)[1] |
Number of employees | 98[1] (2025) |
| Website | www |
History
Grezzo was founded Koichi Ishii in December 2006,[3] with Ishii serving as CEO.[2][4] The company's first original release was the Japanese exclusive Line Attack Heroes WiiWare game that released in 2010.[5] Soon after, Ishii was approached by Satoru Iwata of Nintendo to begin work on a game for the still in development Nintendo 3DS. From this partnership, Grezzo started work on The Legend of Zelda series. In 2011, it was revealed that the studio would be developing Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for the Nintendo 3DS.[6][7] In the same year, it also released a DSiWare version of Four Swords that allowed for singleplayer gameplay. Grezzo additionally handled Majora's Mask 3D[8] and Tri Force Heroes in 2015.[4]
During this time, Grezzo also worked on several RPG titles, partnering with Cattle Call for The Legend of Legacy and The Alliance Alive. At E3 2016, the company announced Ever Oasis, a new original game directed by Ishii.[9] The game was published by Nintendo and released on the 3DS in 2017.[4][10] Grezzo worked with Nintendo again to port Luigi's Mansion to the 3DS in 2018.[11][12] It then released a remake of Link's Awakening for the Nintendo Switch in 2019.[13][14]
In September 2024, it was revealed that Grezzo was the developer on The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.[15][16] Following the release of Link's Awakening, Nintendo approached the studio about making an original game in the series. This new game was initially conceived as a dungeon editor before transitioning to focus on the copy abilities that would make up the core of Echoes of Wisdom.[14]
