I don't usually comment on these things, but given there's been a lot of irresponsible reporting around this project that's led to a lot of misconceptions and (imo) undeserved negativity, I want to clear up a couple of things here. As the cat's out of the bag now and Emily has already broken the news, I figure it can't do anything but help. First off though, I don't know whether or not this is being announced in the direct today. I was expecting it to be announced in the E3 direct, but when they announced Dread instead I assumed they were going to hold off on this announcement until after Dread released. So I'd be surprised if they talk about it today, but if they do then that's great because I've been waiting for this to be announced for years now.

Just so people understand what this is and what it isn't, I just want to clear up the history here so people can make accurate judgments about this project and whether it's worth their money. To start, most every rumor that's supposedly leaked about Retro the last several years has been complete bullshit. The stuff about them doing Star Fox Grand Prix and Labo stuff was complete bullshit. The only thing that was accurate was the rumor about the project they'd been working on since Tropical Freeze released was canceled. That was true.

After that, Nintendo had them start working on this project. It was designed from the beginning as a full asset remake of the original Metroid Prime Trilogy. They didn't want them making any changes to the design. They just wanted a 1:1 remake of the original games with new art built to modern standards. Down to them even reusing the original collision meshes and just replacing the art. They didn't want to mess with perfection. So this was never at any point a simple remaster of any of the games. They were always planned to be full remakes.

But it was only the art that was being rebuilt so that left their design staff with nothing to do. At the time, NOJ was having issues with Namco's work on Prime 4. Particularly the level design. So they started having the Retro design staff start helping with the level design on Prime 4. Meanwhile, art and programming staff were working on the MP1 Remake. After seeing the quality of Retro's level design work on Prime 4 and the quality of their art for the remake, NOJ decided, "Why are we not just having Retro do Prime 4 altogether?" So that was the point where they cancelled things with Namco and made the announcement they were rebooting things with Retro and put them back together with Tanabe.

So I think it was a few months after this or somewhere around then where the rumors about a MP trilogy first came out. I believe Imran Khan was first to "scoop it." However, what he reported was largely bullshit. He said the full trilogy was finished as a remaster and was just sitting around waiting to be released. Also, that Retro had secretly put a demo together to scoop MP4 from Namco. That was completely untrue. That is not how things work in this industry and definitely not how the relationship between Retro and NOJ works. This is not Spangleberg-era Retro where they're just secretly working on their own projects supposedly to steal projects from other studios. I feel like that was really irresponsible for Imran to claim that as that's a really bad look for Retro and is the kind of thing that creates bad blood. Retro are good guys and classier than that.

I privately messaged Imran back in early 2019 that his reporting was largely wrong. This was not a simple remaster. Work had not yet even begun on the later two games and this first game wouldn't be ready for some time. Also, that his statements about Retro sniping Prime 4 from Namco was completely untrue. It had been NOJ's decision and they were just following orders. Imran stopped responding to me as I guess rather than do his due diligence to correct any bad reporting he'd rather just let those bad rumors fly and soak up his fifteen minutes of fame. So instead these rumors about a Prime Trilogy being finished and waiting in the wings just kept circulating and getting reported by more people.

Before Retro got Prime 4 back they'd been planning for them to redo the whole trilogy. Obviously that was not going to be possible with them now doing Prime 4. So the new plan became for them to just finish up the first game, then Nintendo would contract out the work for the subsequent games to be redone by other studios with the Prime 1 remake serving to establish the visual bar and style for other studios to emulate. I don't know whether this is still the plan or if that work has even begun. I'm sort of doubtful. They've just barely finished up the work on Prime 1 just a few weeks ago. So this is definitely not something Nintendo has been sitting on for years and releasing them individually to nickel and dime everybody.

Retro has put a lot of work in to this project. They've seriously been working on it for years. I hope that can be appreciated. This is not one of Nintendo's usual quick minimalist re-release cash grabs. I think this is the kind of thing we want to see from them and should reward. That's why it irritates me that all this irresponsible reporting from years past is casting a negative shadow over it with people being led to believe Nintendo is just trying to take advantage of the fan base. Yes, that has happened from time to time, but this is not one of those cases. I don't know what the price point would ultimately be, but given the amount of work put into it I would fully expect it to be full price. Again, there's not any new added content to my knowledge but all the art assets have been completely rebuilt from the ground up a la Shadow of the Colossus/Demon's Souls remake. I have not seen the game running so I can't comment on the finished quality of the art remake, but I have heard it's impressive for what it's worth. So hopefully that clarifies the situation here.

Production
Michael Kelbaugh, president and CEO (Metroid Prime 2 & 3)
Nathan Ramos, senior producer (The Callisto Protocol, Horizon Forbidden West)
Monty Goulet, outsourcing producer (2K)
Jeff Moreaux, lead producer (Zynga, EA, Bioware)
Jessica Spence, senior producer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Halo 4)
JoAnna Frazar, producer (Guild Wars 2)
Ryan Harris, director of planning (Metroid Prime 1, 2 & 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze)
Korri Kopsi, concept art producer (Satellite Game Studios)

Art
Jhony Ljungstedt, senior art director (Battlefield V, Mirror's Edge Catalyst)
Sasha Nodia, lead external environment artist / outsourcing manager (Demon's Souls remake)
Chris Lewis, senior environment / material artist (Halo 4, Halo 5, Halo Infinite)
Rodrigo Brea, 3D environment artist (Amazon Games)
Nicholas Reynolds, technical artist (Striking Distance Studios, Turn 10)
Chris Hahn, associate art director (Anthem, Mass Effect Andromeda, Star Wars: The Old Republic)
Jennica Derksen, senior environment artist (Arkane Austin)
Kevin Decatoire, concept artist (New World, Diablo Immortal)
Jonathan Garcia, senior environment artist (Call of Duty: WWII, Telltale Games)
Ryan Metcalf, technical animator (id Software, Gearbox)
Bryan Erck, senior VFX artist (Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Marvel's Avengers, COD Advanced Warfare)
Randy Bernard, 3D artist
Teague Schultz, senior environment artist (Metroid Prime 2 & 3)
David Salaiz, senior character artist (Midnight Studios, Certain Affinity)
Mark Capers, environment designer (Super Lucky's Tale, Disney Infinity 1-3, Epic Mickey 1 & 2)
Mookie Weisbrod, senior lead animator (Star Wars: The Old Republic)
Rick Blankenship, animator (Red Fly Studio, Bluepoint Games)
Chris Medina, environment artist
Matt Manchester, artist (Firefly Studios)
Will Petrosky, senior environment artist (God of War: Ragnarok, Call of Duty WWII / Modern Warfare Remastered / Black Ops 3)
Miguel Garcia Pandal, cinematics producer (The Callisto Protocol, Marvel's Avengers)
James Reed Ketcham, environment artist
Rachel Doda, storyboard artist (Nickelodeon, Rooster Teeth)
Ryan Powell, senior staff artist (Metroid Prime 1, 2 & 3)
Enrique Rivera, concept artist
Matthew Tovar, character animator (The Last of Us, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare / Ghosts)
Edward Tejeiro, environment artist (Naughty Dog, EA)
Nina Morris, UI artist
Adam Poole, cinematics and narrative producer
Gray Ginther, character artist (Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze, Ratchet & Clank, Remnant: From the Ashes, Darksiders 3)
Tyler Siemers, environment artist (Sony Santa Monica Studio)
Luis Ramirez, senior artist (Metroid Prime 1, 2 & 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Titanfall)
Kenneth Kozan, environment artist (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze)
Robert Kovach, staff technical artist (Arkane Austin, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Epic Mickey 1 & 2)
Steven Ray, animator (The Last of Us: Part I & II, Crash Bandicoot 4)
Kat Gray, environment artist (IllFonic)
Shawn Melchor, concept artist (Epic Mickey 1 & 2)
Greg Frizzell, environment art manager (Rift)
Tiffany Lee Griffith, environment artist (Metroid Prime Remastered)
Raphael Perkins, animator (Donkey Kong Country Returns, Metroid Prime 3, Duke Nukem Forever)
Charlie Victoria, gameplay animator (Naughty Dog)
Kyle Hefley, lead character artist (Halo 4, 5 & Infinite, Call of Duty: Black Ops, DJ Hero)
Sylvia Rowland, artist (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 7)
Robert Kovach, staff technical artist (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Epic Mickey 1 & 2, Arkane Austin)
Ian Connell, animator (Lego 2K Drive, Thor: Love and Thunder)
Sean Horton, senior environment artist (Metroid Prime 2 & 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 7)
Taylor Rohrig, cinematic artist (Deck Nine, Sony Santa Monica Studio, Walt Disney Imagineering)
Dax Pallotta, technical staff animator (Metroid Prime 1, 2 & 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 7)
David DeCoster, senior environment artist (Metroid Prime Remastered)
Bryce Homick, senior environment concept artist (Firaxis Games)
David Chen, technical animator (Rift)
Madison McElfish, technical artist
Rebecca Flannery, technical artist (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Epic Mickey 2)
Mike Abahazy, technical art manager (Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed)
Kyle Ruegg, animator (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Dungeon Hunter 3)
Stephen Zafros, senior animator (Metroid Prime 1, 2 & 3)
Alex Petrulis, environment artist (Deep Silver Volition, High Voltage Software)
Kyle Lopez, cinematic layout artist (Ms Marvel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
Kiko Buyo, senior animator (Metroid Prime Remastered, Star Wars: The Old Republic)
John Sheblak, lead graphics engineer (Mario Kart 7, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze)
Marina Czarnecki, 3D artist (Apex Legends, Clash of Clans)
Tony Bernardin, graphics engineer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze)
John Carter, VFX artist (Remnant 2, Darksiders 3)
Jon Marcella, environment designer (God of War PS4, God of War: Ascension)
Dan Wallace, lighting artist (The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, God of War Ragnarok, Overwatch)
Thomas Haase, lighting artist
Tom Wright, lighting artist (IllFonic)
Elizabeth Baxter, lead lighting artist (Epic Mickey 1 & 2)
Brandon Habib, lighting artist (Halo Infinite)
Farhez Rayani, senior lighting artist (Pixar)
Josh Slezak, lighting artist
Ayesha Baugh, real-time lighting artist
Chad Orr, senior lighting artist (Dreamworks Animation, God of War 4)
Alex Gold, technical designer (God of War: Ragnarok, MediEvil PS4)
Jon Wofford, lead UI artist (Anthem, Star Wars: The Old Republic)

Design
Richard Terrell, designer (Remnant: From the Ashes)
Nestor Hernandez, senior designer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze)
Bill Vandervoort, design director (Metroid Prime 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Kart 7, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze)
Brandon Strong, senior designer (Junction Point Studios, Sensory Sweep)
Scott Hafner, senior level designer (Obsidian)
Stephen Dupree, principal game designer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Super Lucky's Tale)
Patrick Krefting, technical designer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Epic Mickey 1 & 2)
Shawn Wingler, technical designer (Mass Effect Trilogy, The Sims on console)
Jay Fuller, designer (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Mario Kart 7)
Ethan Smith, designer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Epic Mickey 1 & 2)
Wayland Fong, technical designer (Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War / Vanguard, Black Ops 4)
Russell O'Henly, staff technical designer (Metroid Prime 2 & 3, Mario Kart 7)

Audio
Geoffrey Belcher, sound designer
Scott Petersen, audio supervisor (Blizzard Entertainment)
Bobby Arlauskas, sound designer (Metroid Prime 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Halo 4)

Engineering
Bharathwaj Nandakumar, engineering manager (Treyarch)
Ben Johnson, tools engineer (Hangar 13)
Matt Frank, tools engineer (A Hat in Time)
Eric Sebesta, director of engineering (Unity, Bethesda, BioWare)
Ryan Dunagan, technical designer (Remnant: From the Ashes, Darksiders 3)
Jeffrey Joyce, software engineer (NBA 2K)
David Plunkett, programmer (The Matrix Online)
Gary Scanlon Jr, software engineer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Disney Infinity 2.0, Mass Effect Trilogy)
Jim Richmond, senior software engineer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze)
Taylor Yust, gameplay engineer
Andy Hanson, software engineer (Metroid Prime 3)
Michael Kelley, software engineer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11)
Daniel Habig, technical engineer (Bethesda)
Jose Guerra, staff software engineer (Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze)
Andrew Orlando, software engineer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Star Wars: The Old Republic)
Jordan Johnson, UI engineer (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Medal of Honor: Frontline)
Rio Velarde, programmer (Rockstar Games)
Ryan Kirschman, gameplay engineer (Telltale Games)
Robert Walker, gameplay engineer (Halo 2L Anniversary, Doom 2016, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered)
Ryan Cornelius, senior lead gameplay engineer (Metroid Prime Trilogy, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze)
Jim Gage, software engineer (Metroid Prime 1, 2 & 3, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze)