Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (“MP4”) has endured an eight year-long development cycle. From its very early announcement in 2017, to its restarting of production from scratch in January 2019, then its long-awaited unveiling in June 2024, it has been a journey for both Retro Studios, the original development team before them, and Metroid fans.
Without any news to go on for more than five years, the gaming press and Metroid fans alike paid attention to hiring at Retro Studios for potential clues on this elusive game. Some developers turned out to have been hired for Metroid Prime Remastered (“MPR”) and then left, while others have stayed on. This feature will serve as a guide to everyone who is confirmed to be working on MP4 or worked at Retro during the development period, as well as a “Where Are They Now?” feature like we’ve published on Shinesparkers in the past. Given Nintendo’s history of not always crediting everyone who works on their games, it will ensure no one falls through the cracks should any of these names be left out of MP4’s credits.
Some developers are referred to in terms of a hierarchy of Levels. According to Eric Kozlowsky, the Levels indicate scope of responsibility. The higher your Level, the more involved you are in your aspect of the game design. For instance, a Level 3 Environment Artist takes on a more active role in the environment design than a Level 1 Artist.
This feature does not include the names of the original development team who worked on MP4, only because we don’t officially know who they were. Should that change, we will absolutely acknowledge their efforts too. Nor does it include the names of Nintendo staff in Japan, America and Europe, only because we do not know who from those offices are involved in the localization process.
Note: All employment information is current at the time of writing.
Production
Michael Kelbaugh has been the President and CEO of Retro Studios since 2003. He took over from Steve Barcia after the release of Metroid Prime and has led Retro through the original Metroid Prime Trilogy, Donkey Kong Country duology, Mario Kart 7, and now Metroid Prime 4. As CEO, he is an Executive Producer of every game Retro puts out. He participated in the Developer’s Voice featurette for Trilogy.
Peter, or Pete Nielsen, is Retro’s Testing/Production Coordinator. He began his career as an Associate Lotcheck and Certification Tester at Nintendo of America, and was briefly an on-site tester at Retro in 2010, later joining his Retro directly in 2013, and he has remained there ever since. He coordinated all of Retro’s post-MP3 projects, including MPR and now MP4.
Dylan Jobe is the Director of Development at Retro Studios. He joined Retro in 2020 to oversee the development of both MPR and MP4.
Jeff Moreaux is the Lead Producer at Retro since 2022.
Jessica Spence is a Senior Producer at Retro. She first joined the studio in 2012 as a UI Artist for Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, before becoming a producer. For MPR, she was a Game Design Department Producer.
Nathan Ramos is another Senior Producer at Retro, which he joined in 2023.
JoAnna Frazar is Retro’s Senior Engineering Producer, since 2022.
Miguel Garcia Pandal is Retro’s Cinematics Producer, where he has worked remotely since 2024. Before this, he was the Cinematics Producer for The Callisto Protocol at Striking Distance Studios.
Adam Poole is a Cinematics and Narrative Producer at Retro, where he has worked since 2022. He previously worked for Airship Syndicate as the Art Producer/Outsource Manager for Wayfinder on PC, and as Art Associate Producer at Cloud Imperium Games for Star Citizen.
Marty Taramasco is a Producer. He produced MPR and has been with Retro since 2020.
Monty Goulet is another Outsourcing Manager, at Retro since 2023.
Kyle Telesco has been a Producer at Retro since 2023. He previously worked for Swordpoint Studios, and is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Ryan Harris is the Director of Planning at Retro. He is one of the few remaining developers who has been with the Metroid Prime series since its inception, going from Production Assistant on Metroid Prime to Assistant Producer for Echoes and Corruption, and now Director of Planning for MP4. Additionally, Ryan worked briefly at Nintendo in Japan as a Communications Coordinator.
Bill Vandervoort is the Design Director at Retro. He joined in 2005 as a Designer for MP3, and has worked on all of its subsequent games, becoming Design Director for MPR and now MP4 (as acknowledged on LinkedIn).
Narrative
Megan Fausti is a video game writer who wrote for MP4 between 2020 and 2022. Megan previously co-wrote Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. They are now the Lead Narrative Designer at Trinket Studios, which is developing Battle Suit Aces at the time of writing.
Nicholas Shaw worked at Retro first as a Production Assistant, then worked up to Narrative Designer. He wrote Funky Kong’s dialogue in Tropical Freeze. According to his site, he was the Narrative Designer and Lorekeeper of MP4 until he left the company in 2019. He now works for Frontdoor as an Atlassian cloud developer.
Tracy Nicoletti was a contract writer for MP4 on Retro’s Narrative Team from 2022 to 2023. She now works for Curiomatic. In her opinion, Metroid Prime is a better entry point for new fans of the series than Metroid Dread.
Jesse Keeter is a Contract Writer at Retro, since 2022. He worked with Tracy and the Storyboard Artists to realize the studio’s vision for the game’s story. He is also an actor.
Art Direction
Jhony Ljungstedt is the Art Director of Retro since 2020. A veteran of EA DICE, he directed the art style of both MPR and MP4.
Chris Hahn is Retro’s Associate Art Director. He joined Retro in 2019, the year it got MP4, initially as a Lighting Consultant before getting promoted the following year. He worked on both MPR and MP4.
Korri Kopsi is Retro’s Concept Art Producer, a role which she has held since 2022.
Ryan Powell is Retro’s Senior Staff Artist and one of the few remaining employees who has worked on the Metroid Prime series since its inception. Now, he’s gotten to work on MP4, after nearly 20 years since the last game. One of the dead Federation Marines on the G.F.S. Valhalla in MP3 was named after Ryan in pre-release footage.
Koen Wooten is the Cinematics Lead at Retro since 2019. He is a veteran of Rooster Teeth. Upon MPR’s reveal in 2024, he tweeted “Super proud of our team!” Koen is a freelance film producer outside of his role at Retro.
Beverly Garland is an Art Producer at Retro, where she’s worked since 2020. She produced MPR. She also has a business drawing pencil portraits of peoples’ cats.
Game Designers
Paul Reed is a Senior Designer at Retro who has worked there since 2002, and is one of the few developers still there since the inception of the Metroid Prime series. He came up with the idea for MP2’s Light and Dark World concept, and was working on Retro’s unannounced Wii U project, which may have been Project Harmony.
Jay Fuller is a Game Designer who has worked at Retro since 2005. He designed Metroid Prime 3 and all their subsequent games, including MPR, and has acknowledged working on MP4 on LinkedIn.
Russell O’Henly is a Technical Designer at Retro, a role he has held since 2005.
Jonathan DeLange is a longtime designer at Retro. He first joined in 2005 and left in 2007, then returned in 2008 and stayed until 2010, before working at Vigil Games for 3 months. He returned to Retro in 2011 and has remained there ever since, working on MP3 and MPR, and now MP4.
Stephen Dupree is Retro’s Principal Game Designer. He previously worked at Retro from 2009-2017 as a designer for their Donkey Kong Country games. After a two year break to work at Playful Corp on Super Lucky’s Tale, he returned to Retro, which was reported on in early Jan. 2020.
Nestor Hernandez is a Senior Designer who has worked for Retro since 2011. He worked on DKCR and Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 7 and MPR, and now MP4.
Ethan Smith is a Game Designer who has worked for Retro since 2013. He worked on Tropical Freeze and MPR.
Brandon Strong is a Game Designer who has also worked at Retro since 2013. He acknowledged working on MP4 on Twitter.
Richard Terrell is a Game Designer who has worked at Retro since 2022. Also known as KirbyKid, Richard is a writer, musician and visual artist in addition to his game design career. According to his LinkedIn profile, his blog and criticism projects “add up to the largest body of games analysis on the internet totaling over one million words”.
Storyboard Artists
Sam Tung is a Storyboard Artist who worked on MP4 and has acknowledged it on social media. Before joining Retro Studios, he created a Metroid animatic showing Samus in an action-packed scene. After MP4’s second trailer was released, he posted the shots depicted that he had storyboarded on Bluesky.
Zachariah Roane is another Storyboard Artist at Retro, where he has worked since 2021. On Twitter, he revealed that he made the shot of Samus rolling out of the way of the explosion near the end of MP4’s trailer, which gives way to Sylux’s entrance.
Rachel Doda is another Storyboard Artist. She worked in a freelance capacity at Retro as a Storyboard and 3D Layout Artist from 2023 until March 2025 on MP4. Rachel previously worked for Nickelodeon on Monster High and Rooster Teeth on RWBY.
UI/UX Artists
Jon Wofford is a UI Artist at Retro who is working on MP4. He wrote in an ArtStation post, which went viral (and we reported on) that he animated the transition into Samus’s visor, as seen in the June 2024 trailer, and the UI on screens in the Galactic Federation Research Facility. Before MP4, he redesigned all UI visual assets for MPR. This includes all scan images, the menu and pause screens, Character Gallery, and new accessibility options.
Nina Morris is another UI/UX Artist at Retro. According to Jon, she worked on scans. He later removed this from his ArtStation post, but it was preserved in a Polygon article about it. Nina acknowledged her work on the scan holograms in a post on LinkedIn.
Sylvia Rowland is another UI Artist, who has been with Retro since 2011. On LinkedIn, she acknowledged her work on MP4’s UI, and went into more detail on what she did for Tropical Freeze.
Adlan Ramly was a UI Technical Designer at Retro from 2022 to 2023 who worked on MP4. After its reveal, he tweeted that he could finally add its UI to his portfolio. He is now the Creative Director of Dark Science, and a UX Designer at AKA Virtual.
Austin Owens is a contract UI/UX Technical Designer who has worked at Retro remotely since April 2025. He previously worked for Snke and Arkane Studios.
Character Artists
Kyle Hefley is the Lead Character Artist of Retro Studios, who joined in 2019. He served in that capacity for MPR and MP4. Before joining Retro, he made textureless models of Samus in Varia and Zero Suit form, which he shared on ArtStation.
David Salaiz is a Level 4 Character Artist at Retro, where he has worked since 2016. He designed characters for MPR, and now MP4. On Pinterest, he’s amassed a collection of Metroid-related pins, which you can see here.
Gray Ginther is a Level 4 Character Artist at Retro, where he’s worked since 2022 and previously between 2011 and 2015 on Tropical Freeze. He’s also worked at Gunfire Games (Darksiders III and Remnant I and II) and Virgil Games (Darksiders and its sequel).
Taylor Rohrig is a Layout Artist at Retro, where she worked from 2022 to 2024. On Twitter, she took credit for the closeup of Samus’s face when she saw Sylux for the first time in MP4. Taylor now works for House of Moves.
Concept Artists
Shawn Melchor is a Level 3 Concept Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2014. He previously worked for Junction Point Studios.
Enrique Rivera is a Concept Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2015. He made Concept Art for MPR and is now working on MP4. On his now deleted Twitter account, he quote-retweeted Reggie Fils-Aimé’s tweet showing the picture he got as a retirement gift with a much discussed mysterious robotic hand.
Bryce Homick is the Senior Concept Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2022.
Jorge Barrero is a Freelance Concept Artist who worked in that capacity for Retro between 2022 and 2023.
Kevin Decatoire is a French Concept Artist and Matte Painter. He worked at Retro as a freelancer from 2021 to 2024 on MP4. He is now doing the same thing for Star Wars Eclipse, currently in development at Quantic Dream.
Environment Artists
Greg Frizzell is Retro’s Environment Art Manager. He joined in 2018 as Lead Environment Artist, becoming Manager in 2023. He previously worked for Trion World Network and Flying Lab Software (Pirates of the Burning Sea).
Tiffany Lee Griffith is a Level 2 Environment Artist at Retro, where she has worked since 2017. She worked on MPR and is now working on MP4.
Scott Hafner is a Level 4 Environment/Senior Level Designer at Retro, which he joined in 2021. Working for Nintendo was a lifelong dream of his, and now it’s come true.
Mark Capers is an Environment Designer who joined Retro in 2020. He currently remains there, likely working on MP4.
James Beech is another Environment Designer who joined Retro around the same time as Mark in 2020 and stayed for a year. After leaving Retro, James acknowledged working on MP4 on his social media profiles. While he cannot share information about it, he did divulge on his website that he was the “product owner” of an entire section, one not shown in the June 2024 trailer. He said: “I designed/blocked out this section, while leading three other support designers. We came up with the narrative beats, and prototyped thematically relevant gameplay gimmicks to give this section it’s unique identity. I then had to coordinate/collaborate with all other departments, including those in Japan, to get feedback, approval, and make sure the needs of this section were getting met.”
Chris Lewis is a Senior Environment and Material Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2023. He previously worked for 343 Industries on Halo 4, 5 and Infinite, and at Silicon Knights before that.
Nick Resa is a Senior Environment Review Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2023.
Sean Horton is a Senior (Level 4) Environment Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2004. Sean has had a hand in every Retro game from MP2 onwards, and joined the studio via an internship from DigiPen along with fellow artists Ilya Nazarov and Quinn Smith. Redesigning environments for MPR technically means Sean has worked on the entire Metroid Prime quadrilogy.
Rodrigo Brea is a 3D Environment Artist at Retro, where he has worked since 2023. He previously worked for Amazon Games and IllFonic.
James Reed Ketcham is an Environment Artist who has worked at Retro since 2008. Involved with all of their post-Metroid Prime 3 projects, he is now working on MP4.
Kenneth Kozan is an Environment Artist at Retro, who has worked there since 2012 and on every Retro project since, starting with Donkey Kong Country Returns. Jon’s post said that the in-game assets of the Research Facility seen in the MP4 trailer were built by Kenneth.
Teague Schultz is a Senior Environment Artist at Retro, where he has worked since 2003. Therefore, he’s been part of every one of their games from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes onward.
David DeCoster is a Senior Environment Artist at Retro, where he has worked since 2016. He became a senior artist in 2020. His first contribution to Metroid was MPR, and now he is working on MP4.
Matt Manchester is a Level 4 Environment Artist at Retro, where he has worked since 2005. He designed many of the rooms in Metroid Prime 3, and multiple levels in Tropical Freeze, posting renders of his work on a blog some years later. He inserted the secret Metroid in Tropical Freeze that nobody found until four years later. Now working on MP4, we can’t wait to see what environments he designs next! For our End of Year 2022 feature, Matt shared his thoughts on the joint 20th anniversary of Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion.
Chris Medina is a Level 2 Environment Artist at Retro, where he has worked since 2018. He designed environments for MPR.
Jennica Derksen is a Senior Environment Artist at Retro, where she has worked since late 2019. She also worked on MPR.
Will Petrosky was a Senior Environment Artist at Retro from 2023 to 2024, on contract. He worked on MP4 and following the conclusion of his contract, is now seeking a new role elsewhere.
Tony Clark is a Senior Environment Artist at Retro, where he’s worked since 2023. He worked on MPR as a 3D Artist at Liquid Development, so he had a relationship with Retro before joining it officially.
Alex Petrulis was a Level 2 Environment Artist, working remotely on a contract from 2023 to 2025, until his contract concluded. According to his resume, he was the point person for an entire level in early development, and he “led environments for key game moments, including level entrances and cinematics”. He previously worked on Fortnite, Saints Row, Call of Duty: Online, and the Astronaut Training Experience at the Kennedy Space Center. On LinkedIn, he was excited by the news that Brie Larson was interested in playing Samus in a Metroid movie.
Jon Marcella is an Environment Artist who joined Retro in 2020. On LinkedIn and his personal website, he has acknowledged working on MP4.
Tyler Siemers is an Environment Artist who worked for Retro as a contractor from 2022 to 2024. He worked at Santa Monica Studio for two years prior to that, and returned there when his contract at Retro was done. He remains there presently.
Kat Gray is an Environment Artist at Retro, since 2023. She acknowledged working on MP4 on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Jonathan Garcia was a Senior Environment Artist at Retro from 2022 to 2024 for MP4. He built environments and led art production for the opening level according to his resume.
Edward Tejeiro is an Environment Artist who worked at Retro from 2022 to 2024 on MP4. He now works for NBCUniversal’s station in Florida, designing environments for use in news broadcasts.
Maruchy Barnidge (Maru) was a Senior Environment Artist for both MPR and MP4, working at Retro from 2016 to 2023. Her late husband, Jason Barnidge, worked at Retro with her. She now works for Raven Software.
Sasha Nodia is Retro’s Outsourcing Manager. He was the Lead External Environment Artist for MPR.
Victor van ‘t Hek was the Lead External Environment Artist for MPR. He stayed on at Retro until leaving in early 2024 for That’s No Moon.
Randy Bernard is Retro’s Senior External Environment Artist, a role he has held remotely since 2023. He was previously a Lead Outsource Artist for NECA, the National Entertainment Collectibles Association.
VFX Artists
Chuck Crist is a Visual Effects (“VFX”) Artist who worked at Retro from its inception until 2020. He was an Artist for Metroid Prime 1, a Senior Artist for Metroid Prime 2 and 3, and by the time of his departure, he was Retro’s Lead VFX Artist. He likely served in this capacity for MP4.
Thomas Robins is a VFX Artist who worked at Retro from 2006 to 2020, first as a contractor on Corruption. By the end of his tenure at Retro, he was their Senior VFX Artist. On LinkedIn, Thomas acknowledged working on Metroid Prime 4 (spelled with a IV). He now works for Discord in the same role.
Bryan Venzen is a VFX Artist who worked at Retro for five months in 2019. Interestingly, his LinkedIn page formerly said he worked on the VFX of MP4, and revealed that the game is being developed in Retro’s proprietary engine, RUDE (Retro Ultimate Design Engine). Later, this was changed to say “Contributed – Metroid Prime MPR – AAA Console Title Created in Studio Proprietary Engine”. He was credited under special thanks in MPR, and previously worked for Retro between 2014 and 2017 on whatever undisclosed game they were developing at the time. Bryan is now the CEO of Let’s Make FX.
Nicholas Wilson, a veteran of Gearbox Software, joined Retro in 2020 as a Senior VFX Artist, and is now a Lead VFX Artist. He worked on both MPR and MP4.
Bryan Erck is another Senior VFX Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2020. On LinkedIn, he has acknowledged working on MP4, and he also worked on MPR. He previously worked for BioWare, Sledgehammer Games and Crystal Dynamics.
John Carter is another VFX Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2022. He previously worked for Gunfire Games on From Other Suns (for Oculus Rift), Darksiders III and Remnant II.
Brandon Jenks has worked for Retro as a VFX Artist since 2023. He previously taught VFX as a freelancer, and worked as a 3D Artist at Amazon.
Patricia Kelley is a VFX Artist who joined Retro on contract in April 2025, potentially to help in the final push before MP4’s release.
Lighting Artists
Elizabeth Baxter is a Lead Lighting Artist at Retro, where they have worked since 2014. They were a Lighting Artist for Tropical Freeze, MPR and now MP4.
Chad Orr, a Disney and DreamWorks veteran, is a Senior Lighting Artist at Retro, since 2021. He lit MPR and is now working on MP4.
Josh Slezak is a Level 3 Lighting Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2021, initially on contract. He lit MPR and is likely now working on MP4.
Marina Czarnecki is a Lighting Artist who’s worked at Retro since 2022. She previously worked at Psyop as a 3D Artist for Apex Legends, Clash of Clans, and Cricket Wireless.
Thomas Haase is another Lighting Artist at Retro, where he’s worked since 2022 as part of a team of 11. According to his resume, he developed an entire aesthetic for one region of MP4, and “standardized workflows and visual benchmarks for [five] distinct moments in the game. It will be his first shipped industry title.
Dan Wallace is another Lighting Artist, who worked at Retro on contract from 2023 to 2024, doing lighting for levels and cinematics. He now works for Ember Lab as Senior Lighting Designer. His past credits include Overwatch 2, The Walking Dead: Michonne and A New Frontier, World of Warcraft and Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures.
Tom Wright is a Lighting Artist who worked at Retro on contract for just under a year from 2023-2024, remotely. He is now a VFX Supervisor for Event Horizon Entertainment in North Carolina.
Brandon Habib is a Lighting Artist who’s worked at Retro since 2023. He previously worked for 343 Industries on Halo Infinite.
Ayesha Baugh is a Lighting Artist at Retro, where she’s worked since 2023 on MP4. She previously worked for Halon Entertainment on Fortnite.
Farhez Rayani is a Senior Lighting Artist at Retro, where he’s worked since 2024 on MP4. He previously worked for Walt Disney Animation Studios in the same role on Wish, and at Pixar for ten years between 2008 and 2010.
Brian Ellebracht is a Contract Senior Lighting Artist at Retro, where he’s worked remotely since 2024. He previously worked for PlayStation as a Cinematic Supervisor.
Steven Hensley is a Senior Lighter at Retro, working remotely from Tennessee since 2024. He has acknowledged working on MP4 on LinkedIn. Hensley has worked as a Lighting Director and VAD Supervisor in past roles.
Kelly Koay is a Lighting Artist who was hired at Retro on contract in April 2025. She previously worked for Disney (Zootopia and Moana) and DreamWorks (How to Train Your Dragon 2 and The Hidden World, The Wild Robot and Kung Fu Panda 4).
Will Podpechan is another Lighting Artist who was hired at Retro, also on contract and in April 2025. He was previously a Lighting Artist for 343 Industries, Singularity 6 and Rec Room.
Felix Mendoza is a Senior Lighter who was hired at Retro on contract in April 2025. He arrived at Retro straight after six years at Crystal Dynamics, where he led the lighting team on Perfect Dark.
Technical Artists/Designers
Robert Kovach is a Staff Technical Artist at Retro, where he’s worked since 2012, with a break in 2018 to work at Arkane Studios. He worked on MPR.
Patrick Krefting is a Technical Designer at Retro, where he has worked since 2013, first as a contract designer for Tropical Freeze. He later designed MPR, and has acknowledged working on MP4 on LinkedIn.
Shawn Wingler is a Technical Designer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2014. He had a hand in both Tropical Freeze and MPR.
Alex Gold is a contract Technical Designer at Retro, where he has worked remotely from San Francisco since 2023. He previously worked for Bluepoint Games, which was founded by former Retro developers.
Ryan Dunagan is a Technical Designer at Retro, which he joined in 2024. On LinkedIn, he’s acknowledged working on MP4. He previously worked for Gunfire Games and MegaFauna Studios.
Rebecca Flannery is a Technical Artist who has worked at Retro since 2013, on their games from Tropical Freeze onward. She previously worked for EA and Junction Point Studios (on Epic Mickey 2).
Conrad Buranicz (Conn) was a Level 2 Tech Artist at Retro from 2019 to 2023. He designed environmental effects for MPR. According to his LinkedIn post, this included “rain, steam, lava, visor effects and Beam shot reactions”, among other elements. He also specialized in energy-based visuals like Force Fields, projections, holograms and glass. Conn has since acknowledged working on MP4. He is now working for Microsoft on Perfect Dark.
Parker Daniels is a Level 1 Outsource Integration Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2022. He previously worked as an Outsource Artist for Aspyr Media.
Nicholas Reynolds is a Level 2 Technical Artist at Retro, which he joined in 2023. He previously worked for Tesseract Center for Immersive Environments and Game Design, Turn 10 Studios and Striking Distance Studios. After the Announcement Trailer for Beyond was shared, Nicholas said this on LinkedIn: “Super excited to be able to share this trailer with everyone! Everyone at Retro is so passionate and talented. I couldn’t ask for a better team!”
Wayland Fong is a Technical Designer at Retro, with his first game being MP4. He previously worked for Treyarch and Heavy Iron Studios.
Robert G. Kovach is a Staff Technical Artist at Retro. He first joined in 2012 to work on Tropical Freeze, then left to work for Arkane Studios, before returning to Retro in 2018 and working on MPR, and now MPR. Robert previously worked for Junction Point on the Epic Mickey duology, and Ion Storm on Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Invisible War and Thief 3.
Madison McElfish is a Technical Artist at Retro, with MP4 being her first game with them. She graduated from DigiPen, where she worked on a game called Grocery Gauntlet for a gamedev competition.
Mike Abahazy is Retro’s Technical Art Manager and Department Head. He joined Retro in 2023 after working at Crystal Dynamics for 12 years on the Tomb Raider Survivor Trilogy.
Adam Hayes is a Game Designer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2024. He previously worked for Trion Worlds, Treyarch and Turtle Rock Studios.
Animation
Dax Pallotta is a Technical Staff Animator at Retro, and one of the few remaining devs to have worked on the Metroid Prime series since its inception.
Stephen Zafros is a Senior Animator and another one of the few remaining devs from the first Metroid Prime onwards. He became Senior Animator in 2010.
Raphael Perkins is a Level 3 Animator who has worked with Retro since 2006. He was a contract animator for Metroid Prime 3, and was later hired full time. Since then he’s animated the Donkey Kong Country duology and MPR, and now MP4.
Kyle Ruegg is an Animator who has worked at Retro since 2011, on Tropical Freeze, MPR and now MP4.
Mookie Weisbrod is a Senior Lead Animator at Retro who has worked with them since 2012, on Tropical Freeze, MPR and now MP4.
Omar Amador is a Technical Animator who worked on Tropical Freeze. At one point on LinkedIn he said he was working on MP4. This has since been changed to MPR, in which he was credited under special thanks. He was at Retro from 2016-2020, after which he left. He has since worked for Aspyr Media, ProbablyMonsters and Phoenix Labs.
Yi Chen, also known as David, has been a Technical Animator at Retro since 2019. He worked on MPR, and is now working on MP4. He previously worked for Trion Worlds, Hi-Rez Studios and Fisher-Price.
Ryan Metcalf is a Level 4 Technical Animator at Retro since 2020, with a six month break in 2022 to work at id Software. Ryan animated MPR and is now animating MP4.
Steph Pettit is a Technical Animator at Retro, working on MP4 through a contract from 2022 onwards. She was previously a Technical Artist with PHL Collective.
Joshua Roberts is a Technical Animator at Retro, where he’s worked since 2022. He previously worked for Heart Machine and Giant Squid.
Steven Ray has been an Animator at Retro since 2022. He previously worked for Sony on Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, The Last of Us: Parts I and II and Death Stranding.
Rick Blankenship is a Character Animator who has worked for Retro since 2013 on Tropical Freeze, MPR and now MP4.
Matthew Tovar is another Character Animator working on MP4. He previously worked as an animator at Naughty Dog on Uncharted 2, 3, The Lost Legacy and The Last of Us, and on Ratchet & Clank.
Charlie Victoria is a Gameplay Animator. He worked at Retro as a contractor for a year between 2023 and 2024 on MP4. He now works for Gamefam, and previously for Naughty Dog.
Hilery Chao is a Technical Animator at Retro, where she’s worked since 2023. On LinkedIn, she has acknowledged working on MP4. She previously worked for Amazon and Disney (Encanto, Strange World, Zootopia+).
Ian Connell is an Animator who worked at Retro on a contract between 2023 and 2024. He acknowledged his excitement for everyone to see what he’d been working on with Retro on LinkedIn. Ian is now seeking new work. In his demo reel, he revealed that he animated the Space Pirate taunt in MP4.
Kiko Buyo, aka Francisco Yasutaka Buyo, is a Senior Animator at Retro, where he’s worked since 2015. He was part of the MPR development team, and is now working on MP4. He previously worked for BioWare on Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Kyle Lopez is the Senior Cinematic Artist at Retro for MP4, working remotely from Los Angeles, since 2023. He was previously the Senior Previs Artist for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on Disney+, and a Sequence Artist at Lightstorm Entertainment for the sequels to James Cameron’s Avatar.
Taylor Zucker is a Technical Animator at Retro, which she joined in 2024. She was previously a Character Technical Director at PlayStation, where she shipped the remasters of The Last of Us duology and Concord.
Audio
Jim Gage is an Audio Engineer at Retro Studios, where he’s worked since 2001. He’s another of the very few remaining developers to have worked on all of Retro’s Metroid Prime games.
Scott Petersen has been Retro’s Audio Supervisor since Metroid Prime 2, succeeding Clark Wen. Fun fact: one of the dead Marines on the G.F.S. Valhalla is named after him, and he used his own stove when designing sound effects for Samus’s Gunship in Metroid Prime 3.
Geoffrey Belcher is a Sound Designer at Retro Studios, where he has worked since 2017. He designed sound for MPR and MP4. He also designed Funky Kong’s audio in the Switch port of Tropical Freeze.
Bobby Arlauskas is another Sound Designer at Retro, who has worked with them since Metroid Prime 3, although he was not credited for his work on that. Hired full-time in 2015, he designed sound for MPR and MP4.
Emily Meo is a Contract Technical Sound Designer at Retro. She’s worked there since 2024, and acknowledges on LinkedIn that she’s working on MP4. She previously worked for Arkane Studios as the Sound Designer for Redfall.
Programming
Bharathwaj Nandakumar, also known as Bat, is the Engineering Manager at Retro, which he joined in 2020 after working at Treyarch for eight years. He served as the Lead Technology Engineer for MPR, and is now working on MP4. Outside of video games, he is also a Hindu spiritual advisor and motivational speaker.
Eric Sebesta has been the Director of Engineering at Retro since 2023. He was previously a Principal Software Engineer at Unity Labs and the Technical Director at Bethesda.
Andy Hanson is a Software Engineer at Retro, who has worked for them since 2006, on MP3, MPR, MP4 and all post-Metroid Prime trilogy games.
John Sheblak is Retro’s Lead Graphics Engineer. He joined the studio in 2008. He has worked on all of Retro’s post-Corruption games, including Metroid Prime Trilogy, MPR and now MP4.
Jose Guerra is a Staff Software Engineer at Retro, which he joined in 2008. He’s worked on all Retro games from DKCR onwards, including MPR and now MP4.
Dan Higdon is a Level 4 Software Engineer who joined Retro in 2008. He is in charge of audio technology engineering, and has worked on the Donkey Kong Country duology and MPR, and now MP4.
Tony Bernardin is a Graphics Engineer at Retro, where he has worked since 2011, on Tropical Freeze, MPR and now MP4. Notably, he has a PhD in Computer Science. That’s pretty cool!
Cale Scholl is a Programmer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2011. He programmed Tropical Freeze and MPR.
Andrew Orlando is a Level 4 Software Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2012 on Tropical Freeze, MPR and now MP4. He previously worked for BioWare.
Jim Richmond is a Senior Software Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2013, on Tropical Freeze, MPR and now MP4. He previously worked at Petroglyph Games and Liquid Entertainment.
Jordan C. Johnson has been a UI Engineer at Retro since 2014. According to Jon Wofford, he is the “key architect behind our UI tech, and the only reason any of my designs even work.” This too was removed from his ArtStation post, but is still quoted in the Polygon article. Prior to MP4, he engineered the UI of both Tropical Freeze and MPR.
Gary Scanlon Jr. is a Technology Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2015. He worked on Tropical Freeze (Switch version), MPR and now MP4. He previously worked at Edge of Reality, n-Space and EA.
Ben Jackson is a Level 2 Engineer at Retro, which he’s worked at since 2015. He worked on MPR.
Michael Kelley has been a Senior Software Engineer at Retro since 2013. He worked on MPR and all of Retro’s projects from DKCR onwards.
Georgia Nelson worked for Retro as a Level 4 Software Engineer from 2016-2022 on both MPR and MP4, as well as Tropical Freeze. She now works for Microsoft and runs a small business selling sewing patterns and other custom products.
Robert Walker has been a Gameplay Engineer at Retro since 2016. He worked on MPR, and will now be working on MP4. He previously worked for Certain Affinity on Halo 2: Anniversary in The Master Chief Collection, and at Nintendo of America on the Nintendo Zone Viewer for 3DS, and the Wii U’s Nintendo Web Framework.
Ryan Cornelius is a Senior Lead Gameplay Engineer at Retro, where he has worked since 2015 on both MPR and MP4, and previously from 2006-2014 on Metroid Prime 3 and the Donkey Kong games.
Taylor Yust is a Level 3 Gameplay Engineer at Retro since 2019. On LinkedIn, he acknowledged working on MP4. Years ago, he reviewed Super Metroid for his university’s game design course, which can be read on his website.
Ryan Kirschman has been a Gameplay Engineer at Retro since 2019. He worked on MPR and is likely working on MP4. He previously worked at Telltale Games on Minecraft: Story Mode Season Two, Batman: The Enemy Within, and their cancelled Stranger Things game.
Eduardo Lev Guerra is a Graphics Programmer at Retro, which he joined in 2021. He worked on MPR, and previously at Gearbox Software.
Rio Velarde is a Gameplay Engineer at Retro, which he joined in 2022. He was previously an Engine Programmer at Rockstar Games and Software Engineer at Blind Squirrel Games. MP4 is his first game at Retro.
Jeffrey Joyce is a programmer at Retro. He previously worked on NBA 2K23. According to his MobyGames credits, he has also worked on the BioShock remasters, Disney Infinity and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, among other titles.
Daniel Habig is a Level 2 Technical Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2022. MP4 will be his first game with them. He previously worked for Bethesda, and as an English language teacher in Japan.
Ryan Johnson is a contract Software Development Engineer in Test at Retro, a job he’s held since 2023. He previously worked for ArenaNet, Microsoft and BioWare.
Jesse Cecchini is a Graphics Programmer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2024. He was previously in the same role at Leidos and a GPU Software Engineer at Apple.
Anita Shah is an AI Gameplay Engineer at Retro, where she’s worked since 2024. She is also a non-tenured professor at the Centre for Entertainment Arts in Vancouver.
Dallas Lillie is a Technology Engineer at Retro, which he joined on contract in January 2025. He is also a Cohort Manager of the IGDA Foundation.
Tools Engineers
Kari Blue has been a Tools Engineer at Retro since 2009. They worked on MPR and MP4. On LinkedIn, they said the original Metroid Prime was their favorite game of all time, having played it in their childhood. It meant a lot to them that they could work for its developer and remaster it.
James Krut is Retro’s Lead Tools Engineer. He joined the company in 2014, engineering both Tropical Freeze and MPR. He previously worked for Big Huge Games (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning).
Johnny Owens is a Tools Engineer at Retro since 2024, and previously from 2015-2022. He worked on MPR, and additionally maintains GrackleHQ.com, an automated game jobs site.
May Oakes has been a Software Engineer at Retro Studios since 2019. She was a Tools Engineer for MPR, and has since acknowledged working on MP4 as well.
Ben Johnson has been a Tools Engineer at Retro since 2019. He worked on MPR before MP4.
Steven Dao has worked for Retro as a Tools Engineer since 2021. He previously worked at DreamWorks, Google, Pixar and Epic Games.
Alan Horne is a Tools Engineer, who’s worked for Retro since 2022. He previously worked for Playstudios as a Backend Architect. On LinkedIn, he’s acknowledged working on MP4.
QA
Shane D. Lewis is Retro’s Lead QA Design Analyst. He’s worked for them since 2008, initially as a Production Coordinator, and before that he was a Game Play Counselor and Product Tester for Nintendo of America, credited under QA in all three of the original Prime games.
Caleb Wise is a Level 3 Product Tester at Retro, where he’s worked since 2019. He tested MPR.
Brian Villarreal is a QA Tester, who joined Retro on contract in 2022. He was previously a QA Specialist for Blue Goji.
Amanda Patterson is a QA Tester, who also joined Retro on contract in 2022. She previously tested games at Cloud Imperium Games.
Bianca Benavidez was a Product Tester who worked for Retro for over a year on contract, and is now a Systems Designer at Lost Boys Interactive.
Edwin Atwell is a play tester who tested MP4 at Retro Studios from March 2023 onward. The YouTuber SuperMetalDave64 (“Dave”) discovered his LinkedIn profile acknowledging his role in January 2024 and publicized it in a video; the profile disappeared shortly afterwards. Atwell indicated he was using Jira Software to test MP4.
Dave also discovered that Retro Studios had formed a “production partnership” with Next-Gen Dreams 3D, an Australian developer which is best known for creating stylized trailers. Their founder, Bryce Szandro, still has Retro Studios listed on his Crunchbase profile indicating that their work took place in September 2022. Retro was on Next-Gen Dreams’ clients page on their website, but this was removed after the video from Dave.
Robin Friend is a QA Analyst at Retro, on contract since early 2024. He previously worked for Activision. His LinkedIn banner is taken from pixel art created by u/legummesauce on r/metroid.
Ruben Bustillo has been a Product Tester at Retro since 2024. On LinkedIn, he has acknowledged working on MP4 and using Jira to test it. He previously tested the Call of Duty games at Activision Blizzard.
Luc Tran joined Retro as a Contractor in 2024, after having QA roles at Nerve Software (DOOM + DOOM II) and Airship Syndicate. On LinkedIn, he’s acknowledged testing MP4.
IT Engineers
Sean Howard is an IT Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2018. He worked on MPR and previously for KingsIsle Entertainment as QA Lead for Wizard101.
Clay Stubbs is a Senior IT Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2019. He worked on MPR.
Kameron Scott is an IT Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2021. He worked on MPR and described it on LinkedIn as an “exhilarating experience”.
Stephen Fait is an IT Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2023 and previously for four months in 2022. He works on the backend of Retro’s employee systems and trains employees to catch and avoid phishing attempts, among other duties.
Alfredo Antu is another IT Engineer at Retro, where he’s worked since 2023. He previously worked in similar roles outside the gaming industry. In his spare time, he’s a sumo wrestler.
Jason Greathouse is Retro’s IT Engineering Lead, a role he’s held since 2023. He previously worked as the IT Lead of Wolfpack Studios and Alchemy Systems.
Paul Burk is a Level 3 IT Engineer Contractor at Retro, where he’s worked since 2024. He also holds two other jobs in IT and merchandising.
Operations
Al Artus is Retro’s Facilities Manager, and has been since the company’s inception in 1999. He was credited under special thanks in MP1, and operations in MP2, 3, and Trilogy, and as Facilities Technician in MPR.
Akiko Furukawa-Laban is Retro’s longtime Communications Coordinator, having worked for them since 2003. She was credited under Operations in MP2 and Translation and Administration for MP3 and MPT.
Teia Bartz is a Senior Corporate Technical Recruiter at Nintendo of America and Retro Studios, a role she’s held since 2005. She has never been credited in a Metroid Prime game.
Faith Casper has been Retro’s Senior Accountant since about 2006 or 2007, or perhaps earlier. She was credited under Operations in MP3, the New Play Control! (Japan-only standalone Wii) versions of MP1 and MP2, MPT, and the Donkey Kong Country games.
Rachel Landa has been Retro’s Payroll and Benefits Administrator since 2018. She also has an event planning business.
Cody McGinley is Retro’s Senior Recruiter, a role she’s held since 2019. On LinkedIn, she has shared multiple posts encouraging developers to apply for open jobs at Retro to work on MP4. She has previously worked for Sony, Certain Affinity, Electronic Arts and Amazon Game Studios, among others.
Eric DiCesare is an attorney and the Director of Human Resources at Retro Studios, where he’s been since 2019. He used to be an HR Generalist at Blizzard Entertainment.
Cameron Enfinger was the IT Lead at Retro from 2020 to 2023. He is now Director of IT at T-Minus Zero Entertainment.
Katie Anderson was Retro’s Accounts Payable clerk and Project Accountant from 2020 to 2024, and she now works for an architecture firm.
Catherine Murphey took over from Katie in 2024 and remains in the role presently. She previously worked for Ethos.
Honey Pisano is Retro’s Senior Human Resources Generalist, working for them on contract since 2023. She previously worked at Retro as their People Operations Coordinator from 2015-2018.
Joana Trinh, CPA is Retro’s Lead Financial Analyst. She joined in 2023.
The Shinesparkers team wishes to thank every single developer who played a part in finally realizing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, the game that we will have waited eighteen years for since its predecessor in 2007.
Written by: Roy
Originally published June 14, 2025
Editor’s Note: This feature has been updated to clarify that the developers named here have either confirmed they are working on MP4, or worked at Retro during the development cycle. The link to Sam Tung’s Bluesky post was broken due to his handle changing, and has been fixed.