News

Producer Kensuke Tanabe reportedly claims Metroid Prime 4 is his last Nintendo game

Tanabe has been working as a producer for Nintendo since Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2.

January 21, 2026 11:38 AM

A veteran producer of Nintendo, Kensuke Tanabe, is allegedly bowing out of work on future Nintendo titles following the release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Tanabe has been a longtime producer for Nintendo, working on everything from Metroid and Luigi’s Mansion to Paper Mario and WarioWare.

Tanabe’s supposed retirement was discussed in a recent interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream. In the interview, he discussed a number of things, but one of the bigger topics that came up was his age and capacity to continue delivering as a producer. Nonetheless, he still wanted to work on another Metroid Prime game featuring the series’ main antagonist, Sylux, and was happy to be able to continue to tell the story so far.

Tanabe shares his full thoughts on his supposed retirement and the completion of the Metroid Prime storyline below in a roughly translated excerpt:

When we were developing Metroid Prime Hunters, the game designers at NST, the development company at the time, created complete backstories for all the hunters who appeared in the game. This included the setting that Sylux ‘harbors resentment towards Samus and the Galactic Federation.’ At that time, I wanted to further expand the Metroid Prime universe and create various spin-off works in the future. So, although I thought he might already have his own set of background details, I asked him ‘not to finalize the details yet’ While I was laying the groundwork in Metroid Prime 3 and the 100% ending of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, I kept thinking, ‘Someday I want to make a game about the story surrounding Samus and Sylux.’ After that, a long time passed before I actually had the opportunity to make this game.

Considering my age, I felt that this might be my last chance to work on a Metroid Prime series title. Therefore, I planned this game as ‘the first installment of the Sylux saga.’ I designed Sylux as a dark, deeply resentful, and despicable villain; and from this game onwards, Samus would realize that a direct confrontation with him is inevitable and that she must defeat him completely. Because of this, the final battle between Sylux and Samus is not yet over. However, the time it took to complete this game was longer than expected. Furthermore, I have confirmed that I will no longer be able to participate in the production of the series in the future. Whether a sequel will be made is still uncertain, but I sincerely hope that someday, Ms. Tabata and Retro Studios will be able to complete this story and bring it to a conclusion.

Sylus figured heavily into Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and provided some of the most riveting boss battles in the game with a moveset that pushed Samus’ abilities to the limits. It made Metroid Prime 4 that much more fun, as shared by News Editor Donovan Erskine in his review.

Meanwhile, Kensuke Tanabe has given decades of his life to the creation of cool Nintendo titles, starting back in 1987 with Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2. His work has helped shape the launches of games in series like Paper Mario, Luigi’s Mansion, WarioWare, The Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros, and more. If Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was his last work for Nintendo, it was a good one to go out on. Either way, whatever comes next for Kensuke Tanabe, we’ll keep an eye out and share here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on BlueSky @JohnnyChugs.

Filed Under