Retro Studios is beloved for producing three excellent Metroid Prime games. A rumor was sparked on the Internet earlier today that three key members of the Retro staff have left the company. IGN has confirmed this to be true: lead designer Mark Pacini, engineer Jack Mathews, and art director Todd Keller are no longer with Retro.

The reasons for their departure aren’t clear, but Retro Studios will continue working on Wii software. The developer is not shutting down. It is possible Pacini, Mathews, and Keller are planning on starting a new studio, but that is pure speculation.

Retro was founded back in 1998 in Austin, TX. It is a wholly-owned, first-party developer for Nintendo.

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