In January 2019, Nintendo announced that development of the highly-anticipatedMetroid Prime 4had been restarted at the legendaryRetro Studios. While little is currently known about the progress that has been made on this forthcoming title, Retro has recently seen one if its veterans return to the studio, and the prospect that this designer may be working on thenewMetroid Primeis something that is sure to excite many fans.
Specifically, it is reported that Stephen Dupree is now set to fill the role of principle game designer at Retro Studios after having been away from the company for two years. During this hiatus, Dupree worked on the3D platformerNew Super Lucky’s Taleat Texas-based Playful Studios, and fans that are not aware of this indie title may be quite familiar with the work that he did at Retro prior to his departure.
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This work began with Dupree serving as a contract designer on Retro’s critically-acclaimedDonkey Kong Country Returnsfrom 2010. He would then go on to act as a designer on the Nintendo 3DS’sMario Kart 7, and eventually Dupree would assume the role of lead designer on 2014’sDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Indeed, many players considerTropical Freezeto be among thebest platformers, making the news that Dupree will once again be working with Retro of particular interest.
Dupree is not the only exciting recent hire at Retro, though, as the developer also added a veteran character artist to its team in October. That artist is Kyle Hefley, who spent nine years at 343 Industries working on character models forHalo 4,Halo 5: Guardians, andHalo Infinite, and he is now acting asRetro Studios' lead character artist,
To note, there is currently no official confirmation that Dupree will be contributing directly toMetroid Prime 4, and perhaps he will instead be working on anotherRetro Studiosproject. That said,the developer has not specifically indicated what, if anything, it is working on alongside the newMetroid, and it is thus not unreasonable to expect that the majority ofRetro Studios' efforts, including what Dupree is contributing, are focused on the Switch exclusive.
