Out of all the key Nintendo franchises, it seems like Metroid has had it the hardest, with its games not coming anywhere close to Mario or Zelda in terms of sales. So, despite the undeniable quality of some of the games in this series, it’s still had an uphill battle and has yet to find its ticket to constant success. But perhaps its most prominent failure thus far is, of course, Metroid Prime 4.
Metroid Prime 4 was first announced at Nintendo’s E3 presentation in June 2017, and it wasn’t the only surprise in store for Metroid fanatics because the previous Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime announced that a 2.5D remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus was to be released on the Nintendo 3DS. Still, lacking solid information on Metroid Prime 4 didn’t sit well with people, leading us to where we are today.
Who is actually developing MP4?
For starters, there were rumours that Bandai Namco was working on it, with many fans scouring LinkedIn profiles and frantically searching for anything that could be used as concrete info. Now, that seems like a strange developer choice, right? Well, it was and ended up backfiring for everyone involved because, in the winter of 2019, a three-minute video was uploaded to YouTube explaining how the development of Prime 4 was to be scrapped entirely and started over by Retro Studios.
Thankfully, though, there was a tinge of good news despite all the disappointment because Retro Studios is the original developer. They have since gone on a hiring spree, including Nicholas Shaw, the lead narrative designer.
When will Metroid Prime 4 be released?
Fans and gaming journalists alike have speculated that Nintendo may be saving Metroid Prime 4 for their next console, whatever that system ends up being – perhaps as a graphical showcase. This has yet to be confirmed by the developers, though. But it still seems plausible, especially considering Metroid Prime Remastered’s mind-blowing visuals. It also seemingly acted as a way for Retro Studios to get their feet underneath them and return to what they do best.
Then, with Metroid Dread’s release in 2021, it does seem like we’re getting closer and closer to the release of Prime 4. So, with a Direct rumoured for next week, we might get a trailer for it. Until an official announcement from Nintendo, that is…