Having originally announced it back in 2019, Nintendo and Retro Studios’Metroid Prime 4is still deep in development, and the developer’s recent job listing states that the studio is now looking for an Environment Terrain Artist to work on organic assets. While precious little is known about the nextPrimetitle, some tidbits of information have been gleaned from the available materials.
Judging by this particular job listing,Metroid Prime 4may well end up being a far cry from the franchise’s previous flagship title,Metroid Dread. Namely, Retro Studios needs an Environment Artist that would produce “various organic props” for the game, including (but not limited to) rocks, cliffs, trees, and various assorted foliage, which paints a stark comparison withDreadspecifically, by the looks of it.
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Specifically, it seems that Retro Studios is hoping to nab an established and experienced Environment Artist, as the team needs someone that’s already worked on prop generation for other projects, preferably an artist that has shipped “one high quality game,” according to the listing. Retro Studios wants to see a strong portfolio that demonstrates terrain composition expertise, as the artist would seemingly work on forested areas or, perhaps, even jungles. ThoughNintendo is quiet aboutMetroid Prime 4, this listing may be taken to interpret that the game takes place in a rougher, less artificial environment than was the case withDread.
The listing may also suggest thatMetroid Prime 4isn’t coming out anytime soon, as asset creation takes a good long while to spin up. Doubly so in the case of hiring a new artist who would, presumably, also need to go through the studio’s onboard process to ensure asset consistency and the like. Either way, Retro Studios is clearly on the lookout for high-end talent for the job, and it seems that the studio has high expectations of any potential candidates.
Earlier this year, Retro Studios postedMetroid Prime 4job listings on ArtStation, and the studio was already looking for environmental artists at that point in time. Even though the newPrimetitle was announced years back, then, all these job listings and (presumably) subsequent hirings suggest that the development didn’t truly ramp up until relatively recently, which in turn may mean that the game is even further out than most would’ve thought.
It’s curious, too, that Retro Studios may be looking to makeMetroid Prime 4very visually distinct fromMetroid Prime, with a need for artists that specialize in organic materials and natural environments. After all,Metroid Primeis the bestsellingMetroidgame, so it was to be expected that Retro Studios would follow in its footsteps. This may still end up being the case, of course, but the featured job listing has interesting implications, to say the least.
