Strange but true: some developers belonging to MercurySteam, the studio that took care of Metroid Dread, have been omitted from the credits
Released last week for Nintendo Switch, Metroid Dread has wowed both critics and gamers alike, currently the game is rated at 89/100 its Metacritic, with some already calling it the best 2D Metroid in the series, strange but true, some of the developers they want to know why they aren’t mentioned in the credits.
Nintendo developed the latest Metroid game in collaboration with the Madrid studio MercurySteam, and some former developers of the latter objected to being excluded from its section of game credits, according to a new report released by the Vandal website.
“I would like to sincerely congratulate the Metroid Dread team for making such a great game,” former MercurySteam 3D artist Roberto Mejías wrote on LinkedIn on 12 October. “I’m not surprised at the quality of the game, however, as the amount of talent in that team was skyrocketing. I know this firsthand because, despite not being included in the credits of the game, I was part of that team for eight months ”.
Metroid Dread: MercurySteam ex-developers protest discreetly
Another one of the ex-developers MercurySteam shared his frustrations at being banned from the credits of Metroid Dread: “I am very proud of the whole team!” wrote 3D animator, Tania Peñaranda Hernández, on LinkedIn, “But it also saddens me to see that I am not in the credits for this project that I have collaborated on. It was hard for me to see that they considered it should be when I keep seeing a lot of animations I’ve made in each gameplay. “
Vandal cites an anonymous third source who claims she was also excluded from the credits, despite having worked on the game for 11 months. Mejías also reported to the same site in an email that MercurySteam financially penalizes employees who give less than 42 days notice before quitting. A MercurySteam representative told Vandal that the studio does not normally credit developers who haven’t worked on a project for at least a quarter of its production time even though exceptions are occasionally made.
MercurySteam and Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on the matter. Software houses have long been stingy and “capricciose“Regarding inclusion in credits, using them as a form of punishment or reward depending on the circumstances. The problem surfaced last month with Deathloop and again last week with the release of Far Cry 6. Many developers forgo higher salaries for the option to add a new Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed to their resumes.
With the success of Metroid Dread, which is already setting new sales records for the series, a credit would be just as valuable, as well as being the right thing to do. It is unclear if the game will be patched to upgrade credits or if contributions from some former MercurySteam developers will continue to be omitted.
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