The long-awaited Metroid Prime 4 could be getting an update soon. It has been nearly two decades since the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on the Nintendo Wii, and while Samus Aran has had plenty of other adventures in that time, fans are still waiting anxiously for more of the pulse-pounding, first-person action that developer Retro Studios introduced during the Nintendo GameCube era with the original Metroid Prime.
Nintendo seemingly granted their wishes by announcing Metroid Prime 4 at E3 2017, but there have since been complications and delays. Metroid Prime 4 was initially going to be developed by Bandai Namco Studios, but it was later announced that Retro Studios would instead return to helm the project under the eye of original Metroid Prime co-producer Kensuke Tanabe. As part of this change in staff, development of Metroid Prime 4 was restarted from the ground up due to Bandai’s work not meeting Nintendo’s standards. There has been very little official news regarding the game since aside from a few hiring reports from Retro Studios.
Nintendo’s silence regarding Metroid Prime 4 may be coming to an end. Reddit user SemiLazyGamer noted that Metroid Prime 4 is now listed on the UK’s Nintendo Store website. This is only a registry for fans to sign up for updates about Metroid Prime 4, and many have pointed out that it has been present on the site for some time, but it keeps getting removed and reinstated frequently. Considering this, fans should keep their expectations in check and take the latest Metroid Prime 4 rumors with a massive grain of salt. Still, the fact that it’s currently up at the moment is being taken as a sign that Metroid 4 could be getting some kind of update in the near future.
With this rumor also comes a debate on exactly when Nintendo will make a new announcement about Metroid Prime 4, as well as what console the highly-anticipated sequel will be released for. There have been rumors that Nintendo is now working on a follow-up to the Switch, and that last month’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was being developed as the highly successful system’s swan song. Metroid Prime 4 could instead be the final first-party blockbuster for the Switch, or be used as a launch title for whatever new console Nintendo supposedly has in the works.
Of course, this would require the recent rumors of Metroid Prime 4 coming soon to be accurate, and it bears repeating that the UK Nintendo Store page that sparked these new discussions has been active on an on-again-off-again basis for the past few years. However, with talk of a new Nintendo Direct coming next month, now could be the time for new information about when Samus’s next mission begins.
Metroid Prime 4 is in development for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Nintendo Store UK