Former DICE art director Jhony Ljungstedt has made a significant career move by joining Retro Studios. Ljungstedt, who previously held the position of art director for Battlefield 5, Medal of Honor 2010, and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst, has now embarked on a new chapter with Retro Studios. While it remains unconfirmed which projects Ljungstedt will be involved in, there are strong indications that it could be Metroid Prime 4.
Ljungstedt is not the only high-profile hire to join Retro Studios. Other notable additions include former Halo lead character artist Kyle Helfey. Additionally, after a two-year absence, Stephen Dupree, the lead designer of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, has also returned to the Austin-based studio. (Thanks, VGC)
Metroid Prime 4, which was initially announced with just a logo during Nintendo’s E3 presentation in June 2017, underwent a complete restart from the ground up last year. This decision led to a significant delay in its release. Nintendo also made the strategic move of switching the development team, entrusting the task to Retro Studios, the original developer of the Metroid Prime trilogy, led by the trilogy’s producer Kensuke Tanabe.
Nintendo executive Shinya Takahashi explained at the time that the company made the rare choice to restart the game because it “had not reached the standard we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series”. Takahashi further stated, “The current development status is extremely challenging, and as a development team, we had to make a difficult decision. We have decided to reevaluate the development structure itself and make necessary changes.”
