Check Out this Extensive Analysis of Metroid Prime 4 : Beyond’s Credits

Calling all Metroid fans who enjoy learning about video game development and about the artists who dedicate thousands of hours to producing the games we know and love! Last week, Japanese writer Papen published an extensive breakdown of the credited artists that came together on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

Papen is a self-proclaimed analyst of development structures for console games who digs deep into staff credits and production teams. In their recent analysis, they have provided background information on the multiple studios and the artists involved in the eight-year development of Metroid Prime 4, as well as information on the tragic re-start that left the game back at the starting line almost two years into production.

In terms of scale, this is almost the same level as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (hereafter TotK). In other words, you can safely call this a full-blown Nintendo AAA production.

Pure headcount is similar, but compared to TotK, Prime 4 has fewer game designers and is more heavily weighted towards asset creation, lighting, motion capture, cinematics, and VFX.

Out of all the great insight provided in this piece, I particularly enjoyed learning about the hundreds of artists on-staff who created the amazing visuals that we get to see during gameplay. Reading about the abundance of staff that made this a high-level production on-par with other mainstream Nintendo games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, can give us hope for future games in the Metroid series.

Looking at the credits, separate from Retro Studios and Nintendo, there are roughly 300 external staff involved in “art, video, and motion”. Most of them are responsible for the “visible” side of the game: 3D assets for environments and characters, lighting, VFX, cinematics, and motion capture.

Check out the deep-dive right here to get the full scoop on who is featured in the game’s credits and the studios that housed them! And if you are interested in reading more about the intertwined history between Omega Metroid and Metroid Prime 4, check out this article by our very own Andy Spiteri.

Is this sort of extensive research something you are interested in as a video game fan? Let us know in the comments below!

Source: Papen (via Serkan Toto)

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Sam Spiteri

Inaugural Metroid Blast player at the Omega Metroid Marathon, staff writer, fur mama to Link and Zozo, and plant lover of all flowers and greenery.