If you’ve been wondering what the developer MercurySteam is up to now that Metroid Dread is available on the Nintendo Switch, it appears it’s already got a brand-new game in the works.
The Spanish-based studio is teaming up with Digital Bros and its publishing division 505 Games for a new title codenamed “Project Iron“. It’s described as a brand new third-person action RPG set within a dark fantasy world.
The title will receive a “multiplatform global release” and the project’s initial development investment amounts to €27 million. Along with this, “the intellectual property of the game is co-owned by Digital Bros. and MercurySteam through the joint-venture MSE & DB S.L. set up under the Spanish Law”.
Here’s what the co-CEOs of Digital Bros had to say about this announcement:
“We are thrilled to work with the team at MercurySteam, a proven studio that over the years has created numerous phenomenal IPs – including the recent hit release Metroid Dread in partnership with Nintendo. With MercurySteam’s creative vision and talent and 505 Games extensive experience, gamers can expect a high-quality, captivating and engaging videogame.”
In recent times, MercurySteam has also released a series of patches for Metroid Dread on the Nintendo Switch.
Would you be interested in seeing MercurySteam’s future projects like this one on the Switch? Interested to know more about “Project Iron”? Leave a comment down below.
Following on from disputes over Metroid Dread developer MercurySteam’s policy regarding the in-game crediting of staff, further allegations have surfaced in the last few days which suggest questionable management practices and handling of employees at the Spanish studio, makers of the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow games, Metroid: Samus Returns, and — of course — the latest entry in the Metroid series.
Spanish website Anait Games has published further information after speaking to multiple former staff members regarding their time at the studio working on Dread. Programmers and artists who worked on the game talk about management and organisation issues, and a negative, stressful culture at MercurySteam.
The article details various grievances throughout development. One area involved ‘overscope’ that necessitated cuts on the part of Nintendo. A period between April and July 2020 when Nintendo reviewed progress on the game and made various cuts to address a supposed bottleneck in the art pipeline. “There were about 120 cinematics to do, it was too big an overscope,” says one ex-programmer (via Google Translate) who left the studio shortly after. Another substantial cut is mentioned from the previous year, as well.
Development of Metroid Dread is described as “quite chaotic. Many times, giving me directions, my lead and the game director contradicted each other,” says another programmer. Another artist had this to say to Anait of the management style in place at the studio:
They do not trust the worker at all and it shows. You don’t feel valued. The bad atmosphere is constant and it is very tense, in general.
Punishments at the studio are alleged to “range from isolating the worker or changing the group to the same sudden dismissal”.
Elsewhere, allegations are made of improper treatment of staff and contractors regarding salary negotiation, as well as a negative assessment of the studio’s response to the pandemic. One programmer said that the “pandemic has not been well managed. It was total and utter chaos,” and describes unsafe anti-COVID measures employed in the workplace as staff were unable to work on the project remotely.
Inconsistencies in the Human Resources department’s responses to employee grievances are cited, with one example detailing the workers’ right to leave the office to cast a vote for the Madrid community elections — which fell on a working day — questioned due to the current state of development at that time.
The article also touches on the credits debate, with a fear of speaking out in public suggested as a factor which has kept people silent until now:
I think they play a bit with the fact that a lot of people don’t dare to speak in public. I know two more people who are not properly credited but I understand that they are afraid to complain because it seems that they are going to sink your career
Another worker elaborates:
The main leaders know a lot of people and they can destroy your career if they have a problem with you. They don’t mind talking bad about you and screwing up your career and that’s why people don’t talk
Metroid Dread launched on 8th October to overwhelmingly positive reviews and strong sales. The credits controversy and these new allegations don’t seem to have had an effect on the game’s momentum — not yet at least — but it’s certainly disturbing to hear stories like this, especially when they mirror similar allegations concerning MercurySteam management and culture made years ago when Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 was released.
We discussed the credits issue in a Talking Point article on the subject written before these new allegations surfaced. MercurySteam put out a response to the previous credits issue, although no comment regarding these latest allegations has yet been made. We’ll update this article if a statement is released.
Hey, real quick: If you are a Nintendo lawyer or employee, just like… don’t read this. It was a silly mistake. Ignore this blog. You can go now. Okay, everyone else…
Metroid Dread was officially released on October 8, but copies got out into the wild a few days before that. And even after such a short time, the game is now fully playable in 4K via various Nintendo Switch emulators.
Released yesterday and developed by Mercurysteam, Metroid Dread is the awaited 2D return of the Metroid series. You can read our full review here, but the short answer: It’s a solid game with some nice-looking visuals and surprisingly tricky boss fights. It is a Switch exclusive, as you might expect. But all you need is a Switch emulator and a decently powerful PC, and you can play Dread on your computer, right now. And it looks great.
Via the popular Yuzu open-source emulator, you can now play Dread with custom controls and unlimited FPS settings. Some players have reported minor issues with cutscenes and black screens, but according to the Yuzu devs, this is fixed by updating to the latest version of the free emulator.
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Another popular Switch emulator, Ryujinx, is able to run the game at similarly high framerates, but can also play it at a much higher 4K resolution. Compared to the native 720/900p resolution available on the Switch in handheld or TV mode, this is a massive increase. And, the art style and visuals really shine in 4K.
Of course, it’s possible that certain areas of the game perform worse on certain PC setups, and depending on your computer’s specs and software setup, Dread via emulation could be a total shitshow. But it seems that for most folks with moderately powerful GPUs, things are looking damn good.
If you want to play the rest of the Metroid franchise and don’t want to shell out large amounts of money on old consoles and games, your best bet is also emulation. As is often the case, Nintendo (like most game publishers) is really bad about maintaining access to their past games outside of the few big sellers. Thank God for pirates, emulators, modders, and hackers.