Metroid Prime 4 Developer Hires on DICE Art Director

Back in June 2019, Metroid Prime 4 developer Retro Studios posted a job opening for the art director of Samus’ next major game. After eight long months, it appears that they’ve finally filled the position with former DICE art director Jhony Ljungstedt. And you thought your job interview process took forever.

First reported by VideoGamesChronicle.com, Ljungstedt previously worked as an art director for EA games such as Battlefield V, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, two Battlefield 3 expansions, and the 2010 Medal of Honor.

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It’s currently unconfirmed what project Ljungstedt has been attached to, but considering Metroid Prime 4 is the only known Retro Studios project, and how it lines up with the game’s rebooted development process, it’s the most likely conclusion.

If Ljungstedt is indeed Metroid Prime 4’s new art director, he’ll be responsible for setting the “artistic vision,” collaborating between the art team and Nintendo, and ensuring the project’s art needs can be met on schedule.

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Schedules have been a sticky issue for Metroid Prime 4 as of late. Originally announced with nothing but a fancy logo during E3 2017, Metroid Prime 4 ran into a number of significant issues not long after. In Janury 2019, Nintendo announced that the game was restarting development after it failed to reach “the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series." Originally, it was said that Bandai Namco was developing Metroid Prime 4, but the development restart ended up with original Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios taking over the reins.

All of this information, plus Ljungstedt’s hiring, seems to point to Metroid Prime 4 still being a long way off.

Here’s a look at who is (and isn’t) joining Ljungstedt at Retro, including original Metroid Prime producer Kensuke Tanabe. Can’t wait for Metroid Prime 4? Here’s every major game coming in 2020 to help tide you over. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.