UPDATE: The person in control of the Retro Studios Facebook page has taken the liberty to respond to the rumor. On the ‘now hiring’ post made recently, a fan asked about the rumors circulating about Retro Studios facing hard times. The response was this:
A complete fabrication. All is very well at Retro Studios.
While we know that Retro Studios originally went through a huge restructuring process from Nintendo (which ended up producing the fine Metroid Prime series), there isn’t much that supports this new rumor except for a blog by a person who’s rumor reports have certainly been called into question.
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Original story:
Take a look above. See the word “RUMOR?” Take note of that. It’s very important. The following is a RUMOR, and it should only be taken as such. Take it with a grain of salt, as they say.
So, here’s the rumor; Emily Rogers, who you may recall made a load of predictions regarding the then unnamed Wii U before E3 2011 (Some of which were garbage), has reported that Retro Studios’ Wii U project has been facing some major hurdles.
Supposedly, the departure of multiple staff members from Retro has caused issues and delays with the project, forcing Nintendo to fly staff into Austin, Texas. Rogers also reports that these departures have forced Nintendo to rebuild and restructure the studio.
In addition, Nintendo supposedly expects that even more of Retro’s veterans will be leaving after the completion of the current project, and is preparing to bring in new talent. Rogers spoke to an employee at id Software who reported receiving resumes from Retro employees: “Yeah, we receive resumes from Retro employees. From what I understand, Retro Studios is bleeding away talent.” Rogers also believes that some Retro employees are considering moving to BioWare Austin, who is the developer of the MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic.
If these rumours are indeed true, Retro Studios will soon be Retro Studios in name only, with most of the talent behind such critically acclaimed projects as Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns long gone.
Rogers provided a comprehensive list of former Retro employees who left after the completion of various projects, which you can view at the “SOURCE” link below.
Again, until any of this has been confirmed or denied, take these rumours with a grain of salt.
