Metroid Prime 4 was announced all the way back in 2017 with just a logo, and that was more than enough to get fans incredibly hyped. Sadly, that announcement would pave the way for a 8+ wait until Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which we now know was fraught with challenges and setbacks during development.
Nintendo would share a statement in 2019 saying that their plans for Metroid Prime 4 with Bandai Namco didn’t pan out, so they would be restarting the project with Retro Studios. That team got right to work on what we now know to be Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, completing an incredibly long development history.
In a new interview with Famitsu, a member of the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond development took us back to the beginnings of the game, revealing how the project got started in the first place. According to the team member, it was Nintendo of America that first requested a new installment in the Prime series.
The project began when we received a development request from Nintendo of America. They asked us to create a numbered entry—a mainline title—in the Metroid Prime series. We aimed to create a game that preserved the essence of Prime while also delivering new experiences. Simultaneously, we wanted to center the story around the relationship between Samus and Sylax, something we had planned to explore in a future title.
[Metroid Prime 4: Beyond development team]
