Bandai Namco will be the studio behind the fourth installment of the Metroid Prime series.
According to sources speaking with Eurogamer, the studio best known for the Dark Souls trilogy and the .hack// franchise is currently working on Metroid Prime 4. Those same sources say that the specific studio is Bandai Namco Studios Japan and that they will be working in close collaboration with Nintendo to bring the fourth Metroid Prime to Nintendo Switch.
The previous makers of the Metroid Prime trilogy, Retro Studios, are nowhere to be found on the current project. Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 during last year’s E3, and while the announcement was barely anything more than a 40-second video with the words “Metroid Prime 4”, Nintendo spokespeople did confirm that Retro would not be involved in the project.
News of Bandai Namco’s involvement broke after several employees from their Singapore studio began to drop big hints on their LinkedIn profiles that they were working on something big and secretive. People known to work for the company changed their profile description to say that they were working on a “secret” game for Nintendo, an “ambitious AAA title,” or a “very interesting unannounced project.”
One person in particular, the Lead Designer, said they were working on an “unannounced IP (first-person shooter/adventure exclusive to the Nintendo Switch)”. Shortly thereafter Eurogamer notes the lead studio was transferred to Bandai Namco Japan, with the Singapore studio switched to a different project.
Bandai Namco is no stranger to working with Nintendo. Previously the company made Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS, as well as the Pokemon spin-off Pokkén Tournament for Wii U and Switch. While Namco’s history of games is quite vast, the studio is best known for adventure and fighting games rather than first-person shooters. It will be interesting to see what Namco brings to the Metroid franchise.
Nintendo has yet to confirm anything or even announce a tentative release date, so don’t expect Metroid Prime 4 to hit digital store shelves anytime soon.