Metroid Prime 4 has seen a lengthy and messy development cycle. With the project being restarted almost two years back and developers being hired every month, it will likely be awhile before the game is released. The newest hire for Metroid Prime 4 should be exciting for anyone who enjoyed God of War, though.
Santa Monica senior game designer Jon Marcella has joined Retro Studios to continue Metroid Prime 4’s development. His location design work in God of War 2018 included boss arenas, puzzle design, and AI scripting, clearly indicating Marcella’s high level of experience. His work will likely be very influential to the recently announced sequel God of War Ragnarok. Marcella should be an excellent fit for the environment designer role on Metroid Prime 4.
Metroid Prime 4 developer Retro Studios has been hiring talented industry veterans to fill out development roles, with it bringing in Modern Warfare developer Dylan Jobe to take over as director of development. With someone having filled that key role, the creation of Metroid Prime 4 should now be moving at a steady pace. Further, now that Jon Marcella has joined the project to build the in-game world of Metroid Prime 4, the game should be looking better than ever.
Metroid Prime 4’s rocky development is an interesting, complex story. Revealed all the way back in 2017, the game quickly caught the attention of old school Metroid fans. The game quietly continued development, skipping E3 2018 entirely. While Nintendo ensured that development was going fine and the game was progressing well, that statement proved false as the project was given to Retro Studios in early 2019. With development completely restarted, the studio has been making hires like the acquisition of Jon Marcella for months now.
When the game will come is anyone’s guess, as it joins another Nintendo exclusive in development hell. Bayonetta 3, which was also revealed years ago, has been just as quiet in terms of its development. No gameplay has been shown of the game, with not a single trailer being shown to fans since the reveal. Platinum Games ensures that Bayonetta 3 development is “going fine”, though if that statement is true or not remains unclear. With both the coronavirus to worry about as well as a similar statement once being given about Metroid Prime 4’s development, it is hard not to worry.
Regardless, it seems like Metroid Prime 4 is in a better place than it ever has been when it comes to the development process. While the leaked October release date for Metroid Prime 4 seems unlikely given this recent hire, the game will come out eventually and it should not disappoint when it does.
Metroid Prime 4 is in development for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Resetera