Metroid Prime 4is in a mysterious position at this point in time. It is almost 2020, and there is still no confirmed release date or even release window. There has not been any update on the game’s development since January (outside of a couple of job postings from Retro Studios that ostensibly prove thatMetroid Prime 4has only recently started full production). Additionally, Nintendo’s 2020 line-up has obviously not been fully revealed yet either. Using The Game Awards 2019 and perhaps its annual January Direct, Nintendo may fully map out its release schedule for next year. This leaves it with two big opportunities to also update fans on the status ofMetroid Prime 4. The question is - will Nintendo finally show Metroid Prime 4 soon?
It may not be a whole lot, but it seems likely that its get some renewed attention soon. When Metroid Prime 4 was initially teased, with just a stylized logo and nothing else at its presentation at E3 2017, it was generally understood that the game was far off from a release date. In fact, it was only a month later when it was discovered that Nintendo was not even sure itself ifMetroid Prime 4could release within the next year or two. This led to months of speculation as to what would happen to the project in the face of radio silence from Nintendo.
The other weird tidbit to be discovered after Nintendo’s E3 presentation was the fact that formerMetroid Primeseries developer Retro Studios was not involved with the game at all. This led fans to obviously be disappointed, but what was even more odd was that Nintendo did not specify any developer to be working on the title. It simply implied that it was building its own new studio. If Nintendo was putting a new studio together to develop Metroid Prime 4, and it did not even feel confident enough to schedule the game’s release within the next two years, then it might have saved itself some trouble if it had simply waited to announce the project. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and fans would not have exactly been quiet if Nintendo had simply not said anything.
In any situation, rumors would have still dominated the conversation, as they tend to do. One of the first rumors to sprout up about the project was that it would be showcased at Nintendo’s January 2018 Direct. The reason that Nintendo’s January Direct streams are usually predicted to showcase some major reveals is because Nintendo has generally used this opportunity to showcase what is in store for the upcoming year. If a title, such as one as significant for Nintendo asMetroid Prime 4, is announced by Nintendo in the middle or at the end of the calendar year, then it is usually within its favor to continue marketing the game at the start of the next year.
Metroid Prime 4’sdevelopment is not exclusively laden by rumors though. There are key moments in its development where fans learned important information from sourced facts. In February 2018, it was revealed that Bandai Namco Studios Singapore would be developing Metroid Prime 4. This seemed believable because in addition to hints on employees’ LinkedIn pages, there were confirmed sources from this situation. This was obviously not the first time Bandai Namco had worked with Nintendo, as they had previously worked onSuper Smash Bros. 4and were currently working onSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. With all this in mind, and the aforementioned January Direct showcase rumor not coming to fruition, it only seemed like Nintendo might have finally been ready to reveal something from the game sooner or later. At that point, signs were pointing to E3 2018.
As E3 2018 came to a close, the absence of Metroid Prime 4in Nintendo’s presentation made fans and media realize one thing - there is something, whether it was significant or not, happening behind the scenes at Nintendo that was stalling this project. The lack of concrete answers on Nintendo’s part also seemed to support this to some degree. It certainly was not the end of the world for Metroid fans though. After all, the project was only announced a year earlier.Â
Being out of the loop and left in the cold,Metroidfans needed some hope to keep warm. That hope came in the form of brand new rumors by the time fall came around. It was speculated thatMetroid Prime 4gameplay could finally be shown, this time at The Game Awards 2018 in December. The main reason fueling this speculation came from The Game Awards producer Geoff Keighley’s Twitter account, where he posted a picture of himself alongside celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and, at the time, president of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime.
In the picture, Fils-Aime is seen wearing aMetroidshirt, which was more than enough evidence for some fans that the game was finally coming home. He captioned this tweet, “See you in December!” To add fuel to this hype fire, on the week of The Game Awards 2018, a tease from Nintendo was discovered hinting at some surprise during the December show. Much to the dismay ofMetroidfans, but to the joy ofPersonafans, Nintendo’s biggest announcement that night was the addition ofJokertoSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. TheMetroidcurse seemed real.
In January 2019, the curse seemed to be temporarily lifted, or maybe just reset, as Nintendo finally updated fans onMetroid Prime 4. The game is still far off, as is evident by the fact that Retro Studios just hired an artist from the Halo team. But there is still ample enough time for Nintendo to re-reveal the game to the masses. The Game Awards is just days away, and with the new year coming up,MetroidPrime 4may soon see the light at the end of the long tunnel.
Metroid Prime 4 is currently in development for Nintendo Switch.