If You Worked For Less Than a Year on Metroid Dread, You Won't be Credited

Metroid Dread was in development for four years, so if you worked 25% or less (a year or less) on the project, you apparently won't receive credit for your work.


Published: October 14, 2021 10:28 AM /

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Metroid Dread

Everyone and their dog has been heaping praise on Metroid Dread and why it's fantastic, which is great news for all Metroid fans out there that have been neglected for so long. After all, it was a surprise announcement at E3 2021 from a developer that never produced a truly excellent game, so the fact that Metroid Dread is so good is a miracle in itself.

However, it doesn't look like everything is entirely perfect, as MercurySteam apparently isn't crediting former employees if they haven't worked more than 25% of the game's total development time. As apparently the game was in development for four years, that means that everyone who worked about year or less won't receive credit. The alarm was raised by Roberto Mejias on his LinkedIn page, who had this to say:

I would like to sincerely congratulate the Metroid Dread team for putting out such an outstanding game. I'm not surprised of the quality of the game though, since the amount of talent on that team was through the roof. I know this first hand because, despite not being included on the game's credits, I was part of that team for for eight months. While playing the game, I've recognized quite a few assets and environments I worked on... so my work is there. Then, I would like to ask MercurySteam: Why do I not appear on the game's credits? Is it some kind of mistake? I would really appreciate having some answer to this. Thank you in advance.

A Spanish media outlet called Vandal Videojuegos contacted MercurySteam, which stated that by their company regulations they wouldn't credit anyone in the final credits if they haven't worked on the project at least 25% of the total development time. There are some exceptions that could be made, but that's how it apparently goes for MercurySteam.

This is obviously not how it should work, and it doesn't look like MercurySteam isn't alone in this either. In an article from Kotaku back in early 2020, apparently game studios like to use a game's credits as a bludgeon to reward or punish developers. Hmm. 

It also looks like Roberto Mejias isn't the only one to suffer from this either, with someone else with 11 months of work not appearing in the credits of Metroid Dread. If this is true, there are probably others that haven't been properly credited, so hopefully, everyone who put in work for the game eventually receives their due. We'll see.

If you're currently playing through Metroid Dread, be sure to look at some of our guides, like this one that details how to defeat Artaria.

Thanks, Vandal Videojuegos.

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Patrick is a former Staff Writer for TechRaptor and has been gaming on every console he could get since he could hold a controller. He’s been writing for… More about Patrick

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Metroid Dread
Game Page Metroid Dread
Developer
Mercury Steam
Publisher
Nintendo
Platforms
Nintendo Switch
Release Date
October 8, 2021 (Calendar)
Genre
Metroidvania
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