It’s now been 5 years since Nintendo introduced that improvement of Metroid Prime 4 was being rebooted and handed off to a brand new steward, Metroid Prime collection creators Retro Studios. Nintendo has stated little concerning the recreation since, resulting in hypothesis that the fourth Metroid Prime recreation will function both a swan music for Nintendo Swap or as a marquee launch title for that console’s successor, aka the “Nintendo Swap 2.”
On Jan. 25, 2019, Shinya Takahashi, senior managing govt officer at Nintendo, introduced that “present improvement progress has not reached the requirements we search in a sequel to the Metroid Prime collection” and confirmed an indefinite delay of the sport. Improvement on Metroid Prime 4 had reportedly shifted away from Bandai Namco’s studios to Austin-based Retro.
Since then, Metroid Prime 4 has remained on Nintendo’s upcoming launch schedule with a “TBA” launch date. The Swap maker has not dedicated to any form of launch window, and with reporting that signifies the next-generation of Nintendo consoles is imminent, many Nintendo followers have puzzled whether or not Metroid Prime 4 will nonetheless be a Swap recreation.
It nonetheless might be. It is also a next-gen Nintendo recreation, since Nintendo has a small however noteworthy observe file of cross-generation releases. In 2006, Nintendo launched The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on each its ailing GameCube and the brand-new Wii. A bit over a decade later, it did one thing related, releasing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on each Wii U and Nintendo Swap.
With Swap 2 reportedly that includes backward compatibility assist for video games launched on the unique Swap, a dual-platform launch doesn’t appear out of the query.
Polygon reached out to Nintendo for an replace on Metroid Prime 4’s standing, however has not obtained a response.
We could get extra info quickly, nonetheless. For the previous 5 years, Nintendo has launched a brand new Nintendo Direct showcase every February. And with among the firm’s 2024 plans looming (e.g., Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Princess Peach: Showtime!, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Yr Door), Nintendo followers are due for updates on these video games and hopefully extra.
Nintendo fanatics who’re hungry for brand new info on Metroid Prime 4 have definitely been digging lately. In 2020, job listings at Retro Studios revealed that the developer was trying to rent a storyboard artist that might assist “outline emotional scenes that may resonate with audiences” and “discover attention-grabbing and progressive scenes that elevate the narrative.” As Retro hired up, it introduced on builders with expertise on franchises like Grand Theft Auto, God of Conflict, and Name of Obligation, underscoring the AAA ambitions of Metroid Prime 4.
Retro Studios beforehand labored on three Metroid Prime video games and the 2009 Wii assortment that bundled that trilogy collectively. Metroid Prime 4 is the developer’s solely introduced challenge and the studio is at present hiring for a wide range of roles, although it’s unclear whether or not these roles are particularly to work on the following Metroid Prime recreation.
And since Nintendo initially introduced Metroid Prime 4, method again in 2017 at that 12 months’s E3, it has launched a handful of video games within the franchise to tide followers over. That features 2017’s Metroid: Samus Returns, a lavish remake of a Sport Boy recreation; 2021’s Metroid Dread, a traditional side-scrolling journey recreation that will go on to turn out to be the bestselling Metroid recreation up to now; and final 12 months’s Metroid Prime Remastered, an overhauled model of the GameCube unique.
