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Nintendo announces that development on Metroid Prime 4 is starting over

Nintendo has announced that Metroid Prime 4 is being scrapped, and the development process is beginning again with the help of a new studio.

Metroid Prime 4 is being rebooted before it's even been released, with development now being handled by Retro Studios, who developed the original Metroid Prime series.

Starting from scratch will delay the release, and Nintendo warned that it will be a long time until we can expect another update on the title.

Shinya Takahashi, senior managing executive officer, broke the bad news on YouTube.

Watch on YouTube

The game was announced at E3 2017, and didn't make an appearance at last year's event because it wasn't ready to show off.

It looks like the development process hasn't gone as envisioned, with Takahashi explaining that it "has not reached the standards [Nintendo seeks in] a sequel to the Metroid Prime series."

Producer Kensuke Tanabe will be working alongside Retro Studios, with the team starting over from scratch.

Nintendo promised that once the title is finally complete, it will "stand shoulder to shoulder with the past Metroid Prime series titles."

While no release window was shared, it looks like we're in for a long wait.

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