Module 02
Registering as a developer or company
You can register as an individual or as an organisation. For a first UK game, the official differences are smaller than people often assume — but a limited company is still a legal decision, not just a form tick.
Where to start
The official registration page is developer.nintendo.com/register. You must be the legal age of majority in your country of residence. If your company already has a Nintendo developer account (Nintendo mentions older names, NDID or OMAS), you should not create a duplicate; you ask the organisation’s administrator to add you. The public form cannot add you to an existing organisation. If you need help identifying an administrator, Nintendo lists support@noa.nintendo.com.
Sources: Register; Create Account; Contact
Individual or organisation?
Nintendo’s registration and create-account pages say:
- Select Organisation if you are a company, non-profit, joint venture, partnership or government organisation.
- Select Individual if you are an individual or a single-person company.
- If you register as a company, the person who applies becomes the administrator and can add other user accounts. The administrator can be changed later. Do not register the same organisation more than once.
- If you register as an individual, you will not be able to add other users to your organisation. “Other than this limitation on user management, there is no difference from registering as a company.”
- Organisation accounts assign roles; an individual is set up with all roles assigned to the registrant.
You will need to enter organisation information and the personal information of the user who will act as administrator. The create-account page asks for:
- Organisational / legal name (required). If you represent a corporate entity, use the legal company name as registered, including any suffix such as Ltd, LLC or Inc. If you are an individual, enter your full legal name as recorded on your government-issued ID.
- Doing Business As name (required). This is the name you normally go by if it differs from the legal name. “Nintendo will use it when displaying your name to customers.”
- A question about whether you are authorised to enter into legal agreements on behalf of your company. If you are not, you must name a company officer or other authorised individual.
Sources: Register; Create Account
About other public wording
Godot’s console documentation says console publishing “requires you to have a registered legal entity.” That is general console advice on Godot’s site. Nintendo’s own public FAQ and registration pages allow individuals, including people working from a home office, with no requirement to be a company. For Super Tank Battles, follow Nintendo’s wording when you fill in Nintendo’s form.
Comparison only: Console support in Godot
What this means in the UK
Nintendo does not tell you whether you, personally, should form a limited company. That is a UK legal and tax decision. The public facts you can hang on to are:
| Register with Nintendo as an individual | Register as a UK limited company | |
|---|---|---|
| Allowed by Nintendo? | Yes, including a single-person company, according to the public form guidance. | Yes — use the legal name as registered (for example at Companies House), including “Ltd”. |
| Extra users on the portal | You cannot add other users. | The administrator can add users and assign roles. |
| Name on the eShop | Your “Doing Business As” name is what Nintendo says it will display to customers. | Same — legal name plus a trading name if you use one. |
| UK setup | You can trade as a sole trader and report income through Self Assessment. You are personally responsible for the business’s debts. | You register with Companies House, appoint at least one director, identify people with significant control, and file accounts. The company is a separate legal person. You will also need to handle Corporation Tax. |
UK process sources: Set up a limited company (GOV.UK); Self Assessment tax returns (GOV.UK); Corporation Tax (GOV.UK)
A practical starting point for this project
If you do not already have a limited company, you can register with Nintendo as an individual and still publish. Forming a UK Ltd later is possible, but moving legal agreements from you as a person to a company is not something Nintendo documents on the public site — so if you already know you want a company (for limited liability, or because a collaborator or publisher will need to be added), it may be cleaner to form the company first and register as that organisation. Take advice from an accountant or solicitor if you are unsure. This course will not tell you which structure is “best”.
After you submit
Registration is only step one. You still have to sign in, accept the NDA and Terms of Service, and apply for Switch access (module 3). Keep a copy of whatever you submit, and use contact details you actually monitor. For account or development-process questions in Europe, Nintendo’s public contact page lists support@noa.nintendo.com. Publishing-agreement questions for Europe go to agreements_publisher@nintendo.de.
Source: Contact — Nintendo Developer Portal
A draft of how you might describe yourself and Super Tank Battles on the application is in the prep kit. It is a starting text, not a submitted form.