Earlier this year, Nintendo announced they were pretty much scrapping their development on Metroid Prime 4 and restarting.
In January, Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi explained that their current development on the game did not meet Nintendo’s standards.
He stated, “Ever since the announcement, we have not been able to give you an update, but as a result of the continuing development since that time – although this is very regrettable – we must let you know that the current development progress has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series.”
Takahashi later added, “We have determined that the current development status of the game is very challenged, and we had to make a difficult decision as a development team. We have decided to re-examine the development structure itself and change it.”
“Specifically, we decided to have the producer, Kensuke Tanabe, work in trust and collaboration with the studio that developed the original Metroid Prime series, Retro Studios in the United States, and restart development from the beginning,” Takahashi added.
He then stated, “This change will essentially mean restarting development from the beginning, so the completion of the game will be delayed from our initial internal plan.”
They had previously announced that the game was in development back in 2017.
#Metroid Prime 4 is now in development for #NintendoSwitch! pic.twitter.com/PxmXNx3d0f
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 13, 2017
As Takahashi explained Retro Studios is the studio behind the original Metroid Prime series. The studio was founded in 1998 and is a subsidiary of Nintendo. Their first game was Metroid Prime and they went on to develop Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.
Retro Studios posted a number of job applications for what appear to be work on Metroid 4.
The studio is also known for Donkey Kong Country and just ported their most recent game, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, to the Switch in 2018. They also worked on Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS.
The speculation that they might be gearing up for Metroid Prime 4 comes from the fact that just last month they posted an application for a writer that specifically notes applicants who have “experience with already established IP is a plus.”
Other job applications for Retro Studios include an Accounts Payable and Project Accountant posted earlier this month, a Lead Lighting Artist posted in May, a Project Manager posted in May, a Level 4 – Lighting Artist posted in May, an Engineering Department Producer posted in March, a Boss/AI Designer posted in March, a Recruiting Coordinator posted in February, an Environment Artist posted in January, and Technical Animator posted in January among others.
As Takahashi noted it looks like they are pretty much starting from scratch on Metroid Prime 4.
What do you make of this job listing? Do you think it is for Metroid Prime 4?