After Metroid Prime 4 was conspicuously absent from E3 2018, Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime reassured that the game was still “well in development,” even though Nintendo will not reveal what release window they have in mind just yet.
Speaking to Mashable, Fils-Aime only had the following quote to offer.
“Internally, we have expectations about when [Metroid Prime 4] is going to be released. We haven’t announced it, but yeah, the game is well in development.”
The only news about Metroid Prime 4 we’re getting for now is that, well, there isn’t a lot of news. Fils-Aime does acknowledge that the long time between the game’s announcement and its currently unknown release date is anomalous, as Nintendo usually likes to have the gap between those dates being six months to a year at the very most.
“We do think deeply about the sequencing of our games, but having said that, Nintendo is well-known that if a game isn’t ready, we will push out the development in order to make sure that it is as strong as possible when the game launches. During my tenure with Nintendo, we’ve pushed back development a number of times on key games — in the end it’s always worth it. Because our focus on quality is so strong.”
Fils-Aime also emphasized a work-life balance for Nintendo employees, though he mostly speaks for those in Nintendo of America. The concern over that lack of balance and the prevalence of “crunch” in the games industry has been rising, with Red Dead Redemption 2 being the latest case of labor concerns.
Strangely enough, little is known about who exactly is involved in the development of Prime 4, other than Retro Studios is not involved and producer Kensuke Tanabe is working with a “talented new development team.” It now feels like forever ago, but Metroid Prime 4 was announced all the way back in E3 2017, with only a logo to show.
For now, Metroid fans will have to be content with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate including Ridley (who Fils-Aime says he is practicing to main) and Prime villain Dark Samus—and perhaps the dream of a film with Brie Larson as Samus Aran.