Rumor: A look into what happened with MercurySteam’s Metroid pitch for Wii U and 3DS

It was rumored a couple of years ago that MercurySteam attempted to pitch a Metroid game for Wii U and 3DS. Then in 2016, the studio denied that report. What makes things really interesting is that, last week, Nintendo and MercurySteam announced Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS.

So what happened here? Liam Robertson, who reported on the rumor originally, shared his latest findings in a new video.

We know that development on Metroid: Samus Returns started roughly two years ago, which is when the original speculation started. Nintendo reached out to MercurySteam after hearing the team would be interested in making a Metroid title of its own. MercurySteam apparently wanted to make a first-person adventure on Wii U and a companion game for 3DS. Nintendo didn’t want to move forward with Wii U, but its portable was still an option.

After the big N passed on MercurySteam’s hopes of tackling something original, the developer was said to be exploring a potential remake of a 2D Metroid. Super Metroid may have been among these. As for the Metroid Wii U pitch, it’s rumored that MercurySteam took some of the concepts there for its new IP Raiders of the Broken Planet.

Here’s the full report from Robertson: