Retro Studios Is Seeking An Art Director For Metroid Prime 4

I'd take prime trilogy on switch in the meantime. Very surprised it wasn't announced at E3.

It'll probably be release on the Switch Pro if development is this long. C'mon Nintendo just cause Metroid Prime 4 isn't here yet doesn't mean you can't give us Metroid 5 (the main sequel not related to the Prime series) or the Metroid Prime Trilogy.

So this will be a launch or pro enhanced game. Either way I would like Metroid Prime Trilogy HD

This just makes me feel like Prime 4 is even further off.

Seems like development is starting to get going, which is cool to hear. This is certainly more evidence of development progress than we ever got after the initial announcement.

Holiday 2021 at the earliest.....

I can direct art

If they're just looking for an art director now, I guess we won't be seeing this game any time soon. I'm glad I'm not a die hard Metroid fan.

As long as it's the best it can be when it is finally released, I'm okay with waiting on Prime 4.

...Though a release of the entire trilogy on the Switch would be more than welcome.

They will end up releasing this on the Switch´s succesor. Calling it now.

@WavedasherX You are probably right, tbh.

Unpopular opinion:

I’d prefer an HD port of Prime Hunters over prime trilogy.

Is this opinion biased by Prime Trilogy on the wii u?

Yes.

I hope that Nintendo has Metroid Prime 1, 2 and 3 remade to tide us over as I doubt we see Metroid Prime 4 till at least the third quarter of 2021.

@BacklogBlues That seems about right. Most likely next generation. I feel the earliest it'll be released is around the end of Switchs life span, in that awkward year or two that next generation and the switch co-exist. Think BotW.

This game's not coming out for like 10 years. Hope I'm still alive by then.

Where's that undying Prime Trilogy rumor? The Spyro remaster finally happened. Let's see an HD Prime collection with online multiplayer.

Pikmin 4 is also taking forever. But at least Prime is getting somewhere.

Nintendo pulled a Sony with the final fantasy 7 remake

Speaking of Metroid Prime...

https://nintendoeverything.com/metroid-prime-lead-technical-engineer-andy-oneil-passes-away/

Rest in peace.

@Roam85 Yeah, that would be fun. I'd also like them to release Samus Returns at 60fps on Switch. I don't even care what resolution it is, just make it smooth! The most exciting of all would be a new 2D Metroid mainline game that uses sprites or has high resolution and high frame rate like Hollow Knight and Shantae, but you know with Super Metroid type of graphics. If it could be two player that would be all the sweeter!

@Shard1 Yeah, Pikmin would be so awesome on Switch! Any Pikmin game old or new, please!

They showed off a logo to temp people into buying the switch. They didn't need to. There are so many good games on the system. They should of just announced that development had begun.

This game has been built up so much that there is so much pressure riding on it I have a hard time imaging it will actually reach people's expectations.

@Obitokamui64 Development did start. Then it had to be scrapped. They threw up a logo for a game that was in development.

It’s okay....take your time. We love waiting for something you teased a couple years ago...

So about that Metroid 5 rumor...

Calling it now, Metroid Prime 4 will be a Switch and Switch successor simultaneous release, like Breath of the Wild.

This is baffling to me. Yeah, I get that the art director could have left for another gig or something. But, MP1-3 had pretty consistent art direction. How did they not find someone internally??? That's baffling.

Metroid Hearts III

In the meantime Metroid Prime Trilogy could help a lot with the waiting. That, and a new 2D Metroid.

Whoa.... Can't see this getting a release before the end of 2021.

Still... What has Retro been doing in the last 5 years?

Hmmmm 2021 I think.
They are rebuilding the whole game, like Nintendo did with Zelda, and hey look how that turnend out!!

They will pull off a Breath of the Wild, launching it at Switch and its successor. 720p 60fps vs 1080p 60fps.

@Dev893 Yeah, I'm 100% certain BotW2 will launch before MP4. The move to Retro Studio's clearly meant restarting development from scratch. Which will take years. I'm actually guessing this game will drop in 2022-2023. It might even launch on the Switch's successor.

I do still think we'll see a MP HD Collection on the Switch. But I'm guessing not this year (since it's already packed with games).

First quarter 2022 probably.

So sad 😭

I'm still thinking that Prime 4 will be shown in early 2021 and release later that year...either November or December, but this news is not good. When was that developer update, was that February? They don't have an art director after nearly 4 months. I'm starting to think that potential candidates may just not want to get involved with such a high expectation/pressure spot. Nintendo should've done a better job in transitioning such a project because it's clear Retro Studios was not ready to really get rolling with Prime 4's development.

I have zero confidence in Retro Studios. No explanation regarding their past 5 years of zero output, weren't chosen originally to develop Prime 4, and now still trying to recruit a crucial role.

I'm not surprised no-one decent has applied for the job.

Prime 4 is coming soon to a Switch 4 in 2030

@Ricube I don’t think we are ever going to find out. My guess would be working on a couple of canned projects.

@rallydefault Still think this is coming out next year?

The most important thing is a product worthy of quality. I would rather wait longer than have a rushed product that turns out to be trash.

I will call optimistic to anyone that is saying holiday 2021 lool

@nocdaes
I wouldn't say that so fast, as Retro studios also had almost zero output before they started on Metroid Prime 1. Regardless of the output, they have the capabilities as shown by the prime games they created, and the knowledge of working with Nintendo. I think it is by far the best group to ask for prime 4.

Prime 4 was the game I was looking forward to. I don’t even care anymore. If it comes out one day, great. It’s been 12 years since the last one, so what’s another 12. It’s been 5 years since the last Mario Kart. Nintendo makes less of the games I like, but the Pokémon crowd is very happy.

@HobbitGamer
Yeah but the timing is still suspicious. They knew what they were doing.

@Lizuka I think this is a very different case from the examples you gave. Rather than a troubled, unsatisfactory product being handed to another team to try and fix, Namco Bandai's version was altogether scrapped as far as I can tell and Retro have started from the very beginning. What this means is that a potentially bad game was thrown away, the original developer considered not good enough and it has instead been handed to the team who originally made the fantastic trilogy. Essentially, there's no signifier this new version is troubled or struggling, just that it's only just starting production.

@Ricube @Yasume I direct you to this article that would suggest Retro have been hard at work on an original IP:

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/04/rumour_did_reggie_just_give_us_our_first_glimpse_at_a_new_retro_studios_project

It's not set in stone but I think this is very promising that they have been finally developing an original project. It's evidenced more by the guy from Retro replying to it with a cheeky wink. I think, if you're a Retro or Metroid fan, there's a lot to look forward to.

@Dev893 I doubt it. Game development takes awhile to get anything worthy of showing to the public, and they confirmed that they basically scrapped what the previous studio was doing.

With them still looking for an art director, I imagine they're still in hiring and pre-production phase. Where they're still sketching out the direction they want the game to go. There's no reason to say anything about it because there's not much to say.

@remib Yes, that's true regarding the original Metroid Prime... but last time I checked, there were maybe a dozen developers from the original Prime Trilogy that are still working at Retro Studios. So it's not the same guys and gals working on 4...

Of course it's possible they'll hit the jackpot again with their efforts on Prime 4, but I'm being very pessimistic with regards to that based on the fact that they've clearly botched 1 if not 2 major projects in the past 5 years.

I don't draw any confidence from Nintendo choosing them, either. It reeks of desperation - on both sides - since, again, the team is not the same as Prime 1-3. (And that really shouldn't be a surprise, it was ages ago!)

Retro should have been put on a Donkey Kong game to complete a trilogy of the "Returns" games with devs that know the genre and IP and created what many consider a masterpiece in Tropical Freeze.

Then try again with a new project. It's borderline crazy to reward their 5 years of failure with Metroid Prime 4 in my humble opinion, and it has massively checked my excitement for the game - whenever it releases.

How about getting the management of Retro Studios completely replaced?

5 years of nothing. Even rareware had better output post nintendo ownership.

Hopefully this doesn’t end up being like the Zelda game that was announced with the Wii U but never made it until the end.

@MajorasLapdog Sure, but that was a rumour, nothing more. By now it should have be announced. I still hope there is actually something going on 'cause I am a retro fan.

Sooo, basically Retro studio's did nothing between now and Tropical freeze (the only exception being the Tropical freeze switch port). Normally all kind of people on the internet are investigating what the blazes is going on. Was this company in a zombie state for 5 years, and why? I would love to know?!