With the latest release in the Metroid series launching to impressive success, some recent moves by Nintendo appear to point at the developer working towards Metroid Prime 4 finally getting underway. Specifically, it looks like Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios is building up its management and leadership as development on the upcoming title continues.

Looking at how long it has been since Metroid Prime 4 was announced, any news is good news for fans looking to see any kind of realistic update from Retro Studios. However, while growing the developer through these job postings is a positive step forward, it still doesn't confirm that a release date will be announced as soon as fans might hope.

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The specific job listing that Retro Studios is looking to fill is for a Lead Producer, a leadership role that will communicate and delegate between different departments during development. Nintendo is specifically looking for an experienced leader for the development of Metroid Prime 4, as is common when companies reach out for new employees to take on these important roles. Interestingly, this isn't the only new role that Retro Studios has posted when it comes to building up the leadership, with additional opportunities searching out experienced artists across several departments.

Metroid Prime

Other roles currently posted by Retro Studios include Concept Artists, Environment Designers, and Contract UI Artists, which are currently seeking applicants with experience ranging from 3 to 7 years in their related fields. While none of these job opportunities confirm that development is ramping up, the several contract positions imply that some of these are temporary gigs for a single project. At the moment, there is only room for speculation from seeing Nintendo hire experienced leadership for Metroid Prime 4, with little official word coming from either the parent company or Retro Studios.

Considering the uncertainty of Metroid Prime 4's release date, any hint that development might be moving forward could be uplifting for fans still waiting for an official announcement from Nintendo. However, between these new job postings and the fact that Nintendo hasn't publicly cancelled the upcoming title, it does look like the next entry in this Metroid spinoff series is still being worked on by Retro Studios. For now, it appears that patience will still have to be the name of the game for fans looking forward to see what the highly anticipated sequel has in store to continue the Prime series after all this time.

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Source: Nintendo Careers