Metroid Prime-related news continues to spread after this morning's announcement that Metroid Prime 4 is being delayed, with Retro Studios taking over and restarting the project. Subsequently, rumors regarding the status of the oft-mentioned Metroid Prime Trilogy port for the Nintendo Switch are once again beginning to crop up. Today's rumor is that the Metroid Prime Trilogy port is already complete, though the delay of its announcement remains mysterious.

According to Game Informer's senior editor, Imran Khan, the Metroid Prime Trilogy for Nintendo Switch is complete. The project was reportedly set for an announcement in December at The Game Awards, but obviously made no appearance. Considering that Metroid Prime 4 is starting from scratch, it's likely the Metroid Prime Trilogy is being rescheduled to better manage hype for the Metroid franchise, or to minimize frustrations with the delay.

Nintendo has been known to hold back the announcement and release of finished games in the past to better maximize their impact, either for marketing or scheduling reasons. For example, the Wii U's first-party release schedule was highly micromanaged to better spread the games out and capitalize on big holidays, despite having a somewhat restrained overall slate of games in development. Nintendo appears to be doing something similar with the Nintendo Switch, though its overall output is somewhat larger than with the Wii U.

There's a good chance that the Metroid Prime Trilogy for Nintendo Switch could have been complete and ready for announcement in time for the 2018 Game Awards. Perhaps Metroid Prime 4 was already delayed at that point and Nintendo was considering a way to soften the response, only to change its mind. Or perhaps the delay came mid-plan and that's why Nintendo postponed the port's announcement. Nintendo isn't likely to clarify, and that's if the rumor is true in the first place.

What comes next for the Metroid Prime Trilogy is anyone's guess. With Metroid Prime 4's development restarted and its eventual released delayed, Nintendo could potentially sit on the Trilogy port just as long. Obviously, fans would prefer a quicker release, but Nintendo's priorities always come first. And considering the game was never even announced, Nintendo could just as easily never release the port.

Source: Twitter