Metroid Prime 4


Metroid Prime 4 is an upcoming video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch console. The game is the fourth installment in the Metroid Prime series, part of the larger science fiction Metroid franchise. It was announced during an online showcase at E3 2017, and was likely initially being developed by Bandai Namco Studios. However, in early 2019, development on the game restarted and was passed on to Retro Studios, while retaining producer Kensuke Tanabe.

Development

Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 in June 2017 during their E3 online showcase, with simply a logo and a subtitle revealing that the title was under development for Nintendo Switch. Shortly after the announcement, Bill Trinen, Director of Product Marketing at Nintendo of America, confirmed that Prime 4 would not be developed by Retro Studios, the studio that developed previous Metroid Prime games, but would still be produced by Kensuke Tanabe, who had also produced the series' previous titles. In 2018, Eurogamer claimed that Prime 4 was being developed by Bandai Namco Studios of Japan and Singapore, the latter of which notably included former LucasArts staff who had previously worked on the cancelled Star Wars 1313 game.
On several occasions during 2018, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé stated that Metroid Prime 4 was "well into development" and "proceeding well". However, Nintendo did not show it during their E3 2018 presentation, and said they would only share more information once they believed they "had something that would wow people". The company admitted that their 2017 E3 presentation was a departure from their orthodox approach of focusing on projects releasing in the near-term as it was their first presentation since the release of the Nintendo Switch.
In a video released in January 2019, Nintendo EPD general manager Shinya Takahashi announced that development on Metroid Prime 4 had been restarted. Takahashi said that development under the previous studio had not met Nintendo's standards, and the game would go on to be instead developed by Retro Studios. Nintendo's share prices fell by 2.8 percent in the week following the announcement.