About

Metroid Prime 4 is an upcoming first-person shooter in the Metroid series by Nintendo. After being announced at E3 2017, the series was delayed in January of 2019 when Nintendo announced that they had scrapped the development of the game under Bandai Namco and given development duties to Retro Studios.

History

Metroid Prime 4 was announced at E3 2017 in a brief trailer (shown below). At the time, Nintendo announced that it was not being developed by Retro Studios, who had done the first three Metroid Prime games.^[1]

It was later confirmed that development of the game was being headed by Bandai Namco's Singapore team.^[2] However, no updates on the game were made at E3 2018, as Reggie Fils-Aime stated Nintendo did not want to present something unless it would "wow" people.^[3]

Delay Announcement

On January 25th, 2019, Senior Managing Executive Officer Shinya Takahashi announced via video that they had given the game back to Retro Studios, the original team that worked on the Metroid Prime series. Producer Kensuke Tanabe would remain attached to the project.

The announcement, rare for Nintendo, was praised for its transparency despite the unfortunate news for Metroid Prime fans. IGN^[4] noted:

It’s not just the fans who benefit from more transparency. While it makes them feel valued and respected outside of a tired marketing spin, it also reminds them that games are made by humans, and humans can be fallible. Having a grasp of this lends to a more compassionate audience.

June 2024 Nintendo Direct Announcement

On June 18th, 2024, Metroid Prime 4 was advertised during a Nintendo Direct, with a release window given of "2025."

Search Interest

External References