The new installment of the saga restarted its development after an erratic stint by an external developer.
Years have passed since that logo for Metroid Prime 4, an exclusive game for Nintendo Switch that players are still waiting for. And everything seems to indicate that they will have to do it a little more, since the project was completely restarted after Nintendo decided to withdraw it from the external studio that was in charge to return it to Retro Studios, the original developer. Since then, the company has hired some industry veterans to bolster the creative team. Marisa Palumbo will be the new main producer, as Nintendo Life has published.
Palumbo has a long career behind him, having worked for 6 years at Blizzard Entertainment, as part of the Overwatch team. In addition, he was for almost a decade at Rockstar Games, also in the production of titles such as GTA IV, GTA V, Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Redemption. The vacancy was vacated two months ago, Nintendo Life claims.
Many more signings
Retro Studios is still looking for top designers and AI designers. In recent months they have filled in important gaps: Dylan Jobe, director of Warhawk (a former PS3 exclusive) recently signed, while Bharathwaj ‘Bat’ Nandakumar, former Infinity Ward chief engineer at Call of Duty, joined earlier this year. Adam Morales, former developer of the now-defunct Visceral Games, had worked on Battlefield: Hardline and Amy Hennig’s canceled Star Wars. It has now been incorporated into the Retro Studios template. Same as Kyle Hefley, a Halo artist who was hired in 2019 as the lead artist.
Metroid Prime 4 is one of the most mysterious Nintendo Switch exclusives. Like Bayonetta 3 or the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breth of the Wild, two of the most anticipated, it has no confirmed release date. Nor have many details about its development been revealed.