Metroid (MercurySteam prototype)

Metroid (working title) was an original concept video game pitched by Spanish developer MercurySteam to Nintendo in early 2015, that was unsuccessful. However, Nintendo was open to collaborating with MercurySteam in the future, and announced on June 13, 2017 that MercurySteam was developing Metroid: Samus Returns, a 2.5D "reimagining" of Metroid II: Return of Samus, for Nintendo 3DS.
==History==
Anonymous sources who were in contact with Nintendo Life described the prototype as a "first-person game set in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi environment".http://www.nintendo-insider.com/2015/08/14/mercurysteam-pitched-a-metroid-prototype-for-wii-u-and-nintendo-3ds/ Samus Aran would have been playable, along with sixhttp://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/08/exclusive_mercurysteam_has_been_working_on_a_metroid_prototype_for_wii_u_and_3ds other Bounty Hunters, similar to Metroid Prime Hunters. Had it been greenlit, the game would have been released for the Wii U, with a companion game for the Nintendo 3DS. MercurySteam did not make any secret of the fact that they were working on a Metroid pitch when interviewing prospective employees.
MercurySteam later updated their website with artwork of a cigar-smoking man sitting in a futuristic cockpit, with this text: "Exploring new worlds, fighting strange creatures, discovering new heroes." It is suggested that they retooled the prototype into Raiders of the Broken Planet, their online action-adventure game for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, which was released on September 27, 2017.http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-14-castlevania-lords-of-shadow-studio-pitched-metroid-game-to-nintendo
On September 20, 2016, a year after the prototype's revelation, MercurySteam denied they were ever working on such a game despite evidence to the contrary.http://www.videogamer.com/wii/metroid_prime_3/news/mercurysteam_denies_pitching_new_metroid_game_to_nintendo.html
After Samus Returns was announced in 2017, a follow-up report on the original game revealed that Nintendo did not like MercurySteam's ideas and refused to consider a Wii U game, but were open to collaborating with them on a 3DS Metroid. MercurySteam then began to discuss remaking an older Metroid game, such as Super Metroid.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoV5SbM_V8M Yoshio Sakamoto stated that his collaboration with MercurySteam came about when he learned that they were interested in developing a Metroid remake, though not necessarily of Metroid II: Return of Samus. In a September 2017 interview with Game Informer, Sakamoto revealed that it was Metroid Fusion MercurySteam wanted to remake, and while impressed he rejected their next pitch, but enlisted their help in remaking Metroid II.http://online.anyflip.com/evhy/atpn/mobile/index.html#p=62 Page 62
MercurySteam's original game is the second Metroid pitch Nintendo is known to have rejected, after Next Level Games' Metroid prototype. Similar to the situation with MercurySteam, Next Level Games was tasked with creating Metroid Prime: Federation Force, also for the 3DS.
==References==
Category:Unreleased Games