Now, a cryptic Twitter update from Retro Studios is making fans wonder if Nintendo is going to make an announcement about Metroid Prime 4 soon.
As pointed out by @Nibellion on Twitter, Retro Studios has changed the banner on its official social media account to show the shadow of a humanoid figure that looks a lot like Samus standing from afar across a dimly lit hallway. Unfortunately, as Retro Studios clarified, the long-time Metroid developers will not use the account for breaking news or announcements. Still, this hasn’t stopped fans from speculating about the update after they just dropped it with zero context. Some say that this is Nintendo’s way of “confirming” that it’s still working on Metroid Prime 4.
— Nibel (@Nibellion) February 17, 2022 At this point, Metroid Prime 4 has been in development for the better part of the past decade. Nintendo first announced the game at E3 2017 with the involvement of Kensuke Tanabe. However, Metroid Prime 4 has had an uncharacteristically confusing development timeline. After its announcement, it was reported that the Bandai Namco Studios of Japan and Singapore were working on Prime 4, including LucasArts staff that worked on Star Wars 1313, the infamous canceled Star Wars game that we got footage of earlier this year. Then, in 2019, development had moved to Retro Studios with Tanabe’s involvement still confirmed. Since then, we haven’t heard much about Metroid Prime 4. If it’s any consolation, MercurySteam released Metroid Dread last year, much to critical acclaim. Unfortunately, despite the positive reception, fans are still hoping that Nintendo releases Metroid Prime 4 for the Nintendo Switch soon. Many consider the Metroid Prime games as some of the best Metroid Games of all time and the series is one of those spin-offs that are as good if not better than the original. Ultimately, Nintendo isn’t hard-pressed to make a Metroid announcement anytime soon. The franchise is in a good place and so are the consoles. The most recent Nintendo Direct showcase might not have been the best, but it revealed a handful of titles that fans can look forward to in the first half of 2022, including the Portal games and No Man’s Sky. Not to mention, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is fresh from having set a new series record with 6.5 million units sold in its first week alone. On top of this, there’s also the Breath of the Wild sequel that might launch later this year. When Nintendo finally confirms a release window for Metroid Prime 4, there’s no doubt that the series’ fans will be jumping with joy. But, given the unrivaled success of the Nintendo Switch as far as exclusives go at the moment, Nintendo could sit on Prime 4 for as long as they want.
