A former developer on the series says the International Olympics Committee ended its partnership with Nintendo and Sega to explore new deals focusing on NFTs and esports.

Every four years, we get to see Mario and Sonic teaming up in games coinciding with the Olympics, but this year has seen a break in that trend. The ongoing Olympic Games in Paris have not, unlike past years, brought a new instalment in the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games franchise- and according to someone who previously worked on the series, that’s because 2020’s instalment was the last of its kind.

Lee Crocker, who worked on all games in the Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series, took to Twitter and recently confirmed the same, claiming that the series was “finished”. Speaking to Eurogamer, Crocker revealed that the reason for the series’ demise was that the International Olympics Committee had ended its partnership with Sega and Nintendo in order to pursue new deals focused on esports and NFTs.

“They wanted to look at other partners and NFTs and esports,” Crocker said. “Basically the IOC wanted to bring [it] back to themselves internally and look at other partners so they would get more money.”

The Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games series has seen half a dozen instalments over the course of nearly two decades, two of which were for the Winter games in 2010 and 2014, with the rest coinciding with the general Olympics. The series has enjoyed consistent success over the years, especially where sales are concerned, so to see it coming to an end is bound to be a shock to many fans.