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Kirby studio HAL Laboratory has relocated its main Tokyo office to Nintendo's new building in the city, it has been revealed.

The company – which remains independent but has strong ties with Nintendo (referred to in Japan as "keiretsu") – has also taken on more staff, bringing its headcount up from 169 to 195.

While this might seem like a big change, HAL was previously headquartered in Nintendo's Tokyo Prefecture Building, located in Nihombashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, but moved out in 2003 to a new office in Kanda Suda-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.

While Nintendo remains headquartered in Kyoto, its new Tokyo base is becoming a vital location when it comes to game development. Pokémon studio Game Freak has already moved to the new building, along with Nintendo EPD Tokyo, Nintendo PTD Tokyo and 1-Up Studio. With HAL joining the setup, that's quite a formidable selection of development talent all in one place.

HAL's Yamanashi office remains unaffected by the move.

[source old.reddit.com, via gonintendo.com]