We are closing out February with a feature on Samus’s fashion! Most of you are familiar with her Zero Suit, and perhaps her bikini and Casual Outfits from games before Metroid: Zero Mission, but she has had a range of outfits over the course of the franchise. Here, we’ve chronicled them all, as well as characters in other games who’ve worn Samus’s outfits. Enjoy!
Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective release date revealed
On Twitter, Piggyback has announced a release date for Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective. It will launch on June 24, 2025. Previously, it was listed on Amazon and other online retailers with a date of July 31, 2025; this was most likely a placeholder.
Accompanying the announcement, was another preview image showing concept art in the book. The art depicted includes the PED Suit, Dark Samus, storyboards for the secret ending of Metroid Prime, and a never before seen concept of Flaahgra’s room.
Links to preorder the book can be found through Piggyback’s website here.
Source: Twitter
Iron Galaxy Studios lays off 66 employees
Iron Galaxy Studios, one of many external partners who completed outsourced work for Metroid Prime Remastered, announced today that they have laid off 66 employees due to financial difficulties. They had 200 employees at the time of these layoffs according to their LinkedIn page.
They were founded in 2008 and have four studios in the United States, in Chicago, IL, Orlando, FL, Nashville, TN and Austin, TX. In addition to Metroid Prime Remastered, they have provided support for games like Killer Instinct, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, and Fallout 76. Their original projects include Rumbleverse, a live service game which they shut down, and mentioned in their post announcing the layoffs.
On behalf of the Shinesparkers team, our hearts go out to all affected developers. We hope you will be able to quickly land on your feet at new companies and continue to make amazing games that generations of players will enjoy.
Source: Iron Galaxy Studios
January 2025 News Roundup
Now that the first month of 2025 is behind us, Shinesparkers has prepared a roundup of the Metroid news we had in January. See below:
January 11 – Amazon cancels years-old Metroid Prime 4 preorders
January 14 – Retro Studios credits omitted from Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
January 15 – First image released from Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective
January 16 – Nintendo Switch 2 Revealed At Last
January 19 – Metroid 2026 Wall Calendar now for sale
Additionally, we shared a feature written by our Deputy Director Irene, Amazing Speedruns You Need to Witness, and the second episode of our Shinesparkers Archives series on YouTube, about Metroid: Other M. Throughout February we will continue to share new exclusive content and any Metroid news that comes up. See you next mission!
Shinesparkers and Omega Metroid join forces
Huge news: Shinesparkers and Omega Metroid will be joining forces for the first time ever! Streaming exclusively on YouTube between February 12-16, it will include every Metroid game, prizes, and various special guests. 100% of donations will be given to The Trevor Project, an amazing charity that provides life-saving support to LGBTQ+ and Transgender youth.
Team members Amanda, Roy and Irene will be taking part. Amanda will host a Name That Metroid Tune trivia segment and Roy and Irene will commentate different streams, with details forthcoming. A full schedule of games and list of special guests is in the Bluesky thread linked below. We hope you’ll tune in!
Source: Bluesky
Metroid 2026 Wall Calendar now for sale
Nintendo has licensed another Metroid-themed wall calendar for 2026, and it is now available for preorder on Amazon, costing $16 U.S. It measures 12″ x 12″ (12″ x 24″ open), and will be released on July 15, 2025. The calendar covers the full year of 2026 from January to December, with major holidays and observances around the world marked, as well as phases of the Moon based on Universal Time. Each month of the calendar features official artwork from the Metroid Prime series. It appears to be a reprint of the 2021 Metroid calendar.
This is a further sign that Nintendo is ramping up their efforts with Metroid in 2025. In addition to Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, we are also looking forward to Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective, which is available for preorder through Amazon and other retailers as well and due for the end of July.
You can preorder the calendar through the link below.
Source: Amazon
Feature: Amazing Speedruns You Need to Witness
Our first feature of 2025 has been published! Deputy Director Irene takes a look at some of the most impressive Metroid speedruns to date, and breaks down how the speedrunners achieve the fastest times.
Nintendo Switch 2 Revealed At Last
The wait is finally over as Nintendo has officially revealed Nintendo Switch 2! It is set to release in 2025, featuring black Joy-Cons with the iconic red and blue neon colours acting as an accent this time!
The trailer was focused on showing the hardware itself, but we did get a glimpse of what appears to be a new Mario Kart game, and it was confirmed once more that most Nintendo Switch games will be compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2, in both physical and digital format!
A Nintendo Direct was announced as well, airing 2nd of April 2025, which will give us a closer look at the Nintendo Switch 2. It is not certain whether or not a software-based Nintendo Direct will air before this date.
A pre-release event called “Nintendo Switch 2 Experience” was also announced. It will take place in various locations across the world, and you will be able to register for a chance to enter the event. It appears that you may only register at the region you reside in, and you need a Nintendo Account to be able to enter. You may only enter one event:
Europe
- Paris (April 4th – April 6th)
- London (April 11th – April 13th)
- Berlin (April 25th – April 27th)
- Milan (April 25th – April 27th)
- Amsterdam (May 9th – May 11th)
- Madrid (May 9th – May 11th)
North America
- New York (April 4th – April 6th)
- Los Angeles (April 11th – April 13th)
- Dallas (April 25th – April 27th)
- Toronto (April 25th – April 27th)
Japan
Oceania
- Melbourne (May 10th – May 11th)
Registration for these events will be open from 17th of January, to 26th of January.
Source: Nintendo
First image released from Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective
Piggyback, the author and publisher of Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective, has shared its first image of the inside of this book. It shows pages with never-before-seen concept art and sketches of the Varia Suit, with numerous color scheme explorations. There’s a blurb with commentary, although the text is too small to make out from this image.
Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective will be released in the summer of 2025. It is available for preorder through various retailers via the link here.
Source: Piggyback on Twitter
Retro Studios credits omitted from Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is poised for release on Nintendo Switch on January 16, 2025. It was originally developed by Retro Studios as their first game after completing the Metroid Prime trilogy. Unlike the Switch port of its sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, or Metroid Prime Remastered, this port was developed by Forever Entertainment.
We regret to report that the original development team for Returns on Wii has been omitted from the HD Returns credits. The credits now end with a statement saying: “Based on the work of the original development staff.” This was also the case with Metroid Prime Remastered, which despite being developed by Retro themselves, omitted the names of their staff who worked on the original version. Since Retro did not develop the HD port of Returns, they are not mentioned at all in the new credits.
This appears to be a regular practice with Nintendo when it comes to remastering their games. We believe this is wrong, and we will continue to call it out as it happens. We encourage our readers to check out the original credits for Donkey Kong Country Returns at MobyGames. The original credits for Metroid Prime can be read on Wikitroid.
Source: Nintendo Life