Based on developer interviews, history of development, and recent impressions of the Metroid franchise, fans can assume a slow release schedule for both the 2D and 3D series. The technology of the Nintendo Switch 2 suggests sooner rather than later, but the timing isn’t dependent on Nintendo. If Nintendo producers Yoshio Sakamoto or Kesuke Tanabe can find the suitable studio, befitting a suitable Metroid concept, then that is finally when the next entry is planned. That is the bottom line. But finding the right studio has been difficult for Nintendo. The Metroid Prime series is made entirely externally. The 2D Metroid series is no longer done in-house. The Metroid series is unique in that it is one of Nintendo’s longest-running franchises, not receiving regular releases. In the best of times, the Metroid series either dries or drowns in releases. New gameplay concepts are what I think differentiates whether it does one or the other.
Dependence on Third-party Studios
One of the issues of the Metroid series is that it is dependent on particular studios. For both Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Metroid Dread on Switch, it took each studio an entire game’s worth of development as practice before beginning the new entry. In MercurySteam’s case, it took Metroid: Samus Returns to get to Dread. For Retro Studios, it took Metroid Prime Remastered and a failed Prime 4 draft from another studio to get started. It doesn’t seem like Nintendo has many trusted studios, nor do they have confidence of their own as of yet. Of course, there are likely other reasons for the mixed development cycle of Metroid games, but it is an issue that is yet to be resolved. The common theme is difficulties in executing new concepts, preventing actual development until the proper technology or plan is in place.
The 15-year Wait for Metroid Dread
Producer Sakamoto said that the concept for Dread was thought of 15 years prior. The idea was conceived after work on Metroid Fusion, through the inclusion of the SA-X, a copycat of Samus that put her on the defensive. It was the fear-based gameplay that gave rise to the concept of Dread. But the technology hadn’t been there, and Sakamoto needed a studio that could properly develop it. Then, after seeing their work on a Castlevania game, he collaborated with developer MercuryStream. They had experience with HD games and were excellent in a technical sense. Working with MercuryStream gave him confidence, resulting in a game that surpassed his expectations. It was the quality and polish that Nintendo needed for an entry in such a legacy series.
Nintendo Demands Quality and Polish
In context, the Nintendo Switch generation is a great example of game developers’ ambitions. Even before the Switch, if a series was iterative, developers expanded upon new mechanics or concepts. The creative process is of utmost importance for these games. Some developers, such as Masahiro Sakurai, describe game development similarly to solving problems. They usually explain these problems like barriers to game concepts. Sakurai specifies on the talk show Harada’s Bar: “How do you come up with an idea of games to make? I make a plan to overcome a problem I have at the time.” This is relevant for most Metroid games. If a “problem” (or concept) can’t be “solved” (or executed), then that game won’t be made. Any Nintendo series, in general, demands a high level of quality and polish.
For example, Donkey Kong Bananza recently had a developer interview where they mentioned that they had difficulty implementing destruction mechanics involving voxel technology. They would not have it any other way, and decided that they needed the Switch 2 to achieve the game’s full potential. As mentioned about Dread, it took over a generation before they thought they had the technology to make it happen. Another recent game that comes to mind is Mario Kart World, with its “open-world” mechanic, made possible by the Switch 2, although it started development on the original Switch. These huge game concepts were problems that needed to be solved, hence the reliance on Switch 2. The Nintendo Switch was capable of part of the concepts for those games, but the “problem” wouldn’t have been overcome. That much can be seen in Nintendo’s screenshot of a prototype Nintendo Switch version of Bananza.
The Problem with Metroid Development Today
My problem with the Metroid franchise currently is that Retro Studios is still developing the Prime series. Allow me to explain. Historically, a lot of the original staff at Retro left due to working conditions or fatigue with the Prime series. Generally, staff wanted to work on other projects, causing them to work on the revived 2D Donkey Kong series. Is Retro Studios still fatigued? And even if they aren’t, they might provide an iterative new entry instead of an innovative one. That’s a wait-and-see situation. But can Retro Studios be leaned on for every 3D Metroid? Retro Studios is a great developer with a great track record, but I still see them getting fatigued AGAIN, as they did with the original trilogy. And they had approximately four years of Metroid development this generation already, since Prime Remastered.
As for MercuryStream, I also lack confidence, though I am more optimistic. They are also a third-party studio and have recently worked on Blades of Fire, sacrificing time from other possible developments. They have vested interests in creating other games, with their director mentioning that 50 percent of their team works on their concepts. I doubt that they built that trust with Nintendo just to stop working on the series, especially with the Switch’s limited power holding them back. Therefore, considering that the Switch 2 is a significant upgrade and that the 2D Metroid series is more “specialized,” I could see MercuryStream creating a new entry within the Switch 2 generation, juggling it with their other projects. But at best, it’s another long wait.
Metroid is Not Nintendo’s Priority
The question is now: How valuable does Nintendo consider the Metroid franchise? The Metroid franchise seemingly has untapped potential. If Nintendo decides that Metroid is now a priority, it could start further marketing the series. I mean: that’s exactly what happened with Donkey Kong—although it was one of the most recognized Nintendo IPs according to marketing data via former Nintendo employees, Kit and Krysta. If Nintendo does decide to push it anytime soon, I don’t think it’ll be with Prime 4 or the next 2D Metroid, especially considering the silence on, and complicated history of, Prime 4. If Nintendo started pushing Metroid, we’d see the same amount of releases but with bigger budgets.
As of right now, the series seems to remain as it has been: biding its time with iterations until it can occasionally work on its real masterpieces. Metroid’s best entries were made several years apart across many releases, not including remakes and remasters. Maybe now, as fans, we can consider not when the next release will be, but what we can expect from them. Personally, I want the franchise to go bigger than ever, similarly to Bananza. Though, I’ll take more of the Dread formula if that’s on the table.
