Retro picks up Vigil, Junction Point, BioWare employees

Retro is certainly working on one large-scale project. We've reported on new hires in the past, but now we have information that points to new employees from Vigil, Junction Point and Bioware Austin joining the team. Will we finally get to see what Retro is working on come E3?

[DivineAssault]

that would be nice.. looks like nintendo & sony have some powerful dev teams on their side.. Whats MS gonna do?

[Kamikaze135]

This has always been the case. Sony and Nintendo speak to gamers with developers and Microsoft speaks by throwing money at developers for timed exclusives.

[corrus]

So true

[WeAreLegion]

Microsoft and Nintendo have discovered that they don't have to release tons of titles every year to make money. So, they're never going to. Sony knew this years ago...

...and yet, they continue to release tons of games every single year.

[Kamikaze135]

Sony has more developers than the other two and developers need to release games to make money..so they don't really have a choice. It's business.

[deafdani]

Nintendo actually releases a good amount of games, and they did give the Wii very good first party suport.

The Wii felt lacking in games because it had absolutely shitty third party support due to the lack in power between it and the other 2 consoles. But Nintendo themselves actually put out a lot of superb games for it.

So, you're wrong. Both Sony and Nintendo are excellent with supporting their hardware with their own software. It's Microsoft who lacks in this area, so they make strong deals with third party publishers to compensate.

[BattleAxe]

If Nintendo hadn't released so many first party games for the Wii, it would have been headed for the trash bin within the first couple of years. There were hardly any good third party games on the Wii at all.

[Axe99]

Not at all - I spend more time gaming on PS3 than elsewhere because of its quality and unique exclusives. On topic, though, Retro is top notch, my fave Ninty dev - I look forward to whatever they're cooking up :).

[DOMination-]

@kamikaze

Sony have 12 first party studios
Microsoft have 21

[WiiUsauce]

yup and hardly any of those games sell well which is why Sony is constantly closing down their studios and causing talented people to loose their jobs.

[Ezz2013]

@WiiUsauce

once again you show that you have no idea what you are talking about

sony only closed 2 studios this whole gen
which didn't make any games that worth while and didn't make any money
and the 3rd studio marged with another sony 1st party studio

but they just bought SP studio(infamous)
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...
and MM studio(LBP)
http://kotaku.com/5483776/s...
and soon they will buy QD studio(Heavy rain/Beyond:two souls)..evem the studio want sony to buy them
http://www.vg247.com/2012/0...

so where is the
"Sony is constantly closing down their studios "
is coming from ?!

sony focus on buying studios that make quality games
not bleeding money on studios that can't even make AA games

know you sh1t before you type

[PirateThom]

@DOMination-

21 studios.

1 of which makes mobile games.

1 of which assists with third party development.

4 of which work on Kinect titles.

10 of which have never made a game and are working on "Unannounced projects" and have been since the last time I looked at Microsoft's Studios.

So, basically, 9 studios who have ever made a game and are likely to work on a Microsoft console, 4 of which make Kinect titles only, 2 of which make downloadable titles only.

[DOMination-]

PirateThom,

I don't disagree with your points, but who knows what those ten studios will do? I think MS will continue to use the aforementioned 4 studios as casual/kinect studios (much like Sony does with SCE London) but of those ten unannounced projects, most of then appear to be projects that people will call 'hardcore games' judging by the job ads.

All I'm saying is, lets just wait until e3 to see what MS have in store with these studios before judging or even worse, failing to even acknowledge their existence which most people on N4G do. If all they do at e3 is announce these studios are working on apps/kinect/shovelware, I will be the FIRST to condemn them.

[Mainsqueeze]

Lol I love how this is an article about Retro (who mainly develops for Nintendo) picking up some people from other studios, yet it turns into a war between sony and xbox fanboys. My god are you people pathetic or what.

[Temporary]

I feel bad for all the M$ fanboys that are going to skip Playstation's next console because of their idiocy.

[UnholyLight]

I feel sorry for all the $ony fanboys that skip out on the Nextbox. Jesus man, Im buying both this time. hopefully it's a good choice, I don't really care for most of Sony's exclusives. They tend not to be as good as the few exclusives we have. I'll take fewer exclusives that are better than more that are just meh. Killzone is the only exclusive that Sony has that is AMAZING.

[RuleofOne343]

It's not idiocy, it preferences only an idiotic person would think someone buying something different than what they are buying is idiocy. Stop being a cheerleader & let people buy what they want ,not what you think they should buy.

[browngamer41]

And will you be buying Microsoft's next console? Or the U? If not then you look pretty foolish and should stfu..if you are then disregard this statement!

[Temporary]

Yes I own the WiiU, and no Im not buying the Nextbox. Why? To pay for online access when I get it free everywhere else?

There's people that will literally NOT buy the next Playstation because of their devotion to this silly console war.

I choose not to buy the Microsoft console because of their nickle and diming, and disrespect for consumers by charging for online access, and being HILARIOUSLY less in value than PS+ which is an OPTIONAL service that doesnt force you to buy online gaming access.

So YES, I wont be buying the Nextbox, and I can play Halo and Gears at a friend's house because someone will inevitably own an Xboxnext, but it wont be me.

Opinions are opinions yes, but when someone chooses not to purchase something only because they dont like the brand name and not because they dont like what it OFFERS, then YEAH,

I feel bad for all the M$ fanboys that are going to skip Playstation's next console because of their IDIOCY.

[hazardman]

All I know is your a Hater dude, you remind me of that other douche bag Akuma. Always hating, him on Wii U and you on Xbox.

[hazardman]

I agreed with you but same could be said for PS fanboys who think MS system won't be great either! I'm not planning on missing out on any. Ill have PS4,Xbox720 and as soon as some better exclusives come out from Nintendo the Wii U. From all speculation the PS4 will be a force to be reckoned with.

[UnholyLight]

Watch when XBL goes through revolutionary changes for this next gen. I think Microsoft was smart to get as much cash flowing to them as they did this gen off subscriptions. PS+ is good, but if Microsoft knows what's good for them, their new services are going to be nuts. I agree with you as well. Pretty stupid to write something off before it's even been announced or out yet..

[Joegrine20]

oh yessssss

[PopRocks359]

Whoa! That's some pretty intricate talent right there. Joining Retro Studios of all companies! Certainly makes me excited.

[EddieNX]

Why do you say ''retro studios of all companies'' as if to play Down Retro ? Retro already has robbed some of the best talent in america years ago. It's already a collection of super talented developers.

That's the criteria you have to have to get in , and they are a highly regarded developer.

[DaPrintz]

Vigil is hardly what the industry would call talented. It was average at best while it existed.

[deafdani]

AGH. DUDE. HE WAS NOT ATTACKING RETRO STUDIOS.

He said "Retro Studios of all companies!" in the sense that yes, Retro Studios is already AWESOME, and it's only going to be more awesome with these new talented devs.

There's a reason why you only have one bubble. You most of the time have good points regarding Nintendo and Wii U, but they are sadly clouded by your own overdefensiveness and sometimes, needless hating towards other companies. Stop it already! D:<

[browngamer41]

Chill King...PopRocks is almost always praising and defending Nintendo- perhaps you took his statement wrong?

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

@poprocks359
They're the guys that did Metroid Prime and that's all I need to get excited about their upcoming games.
All this extra talent on board is getting my hype up an extra few levels though.
This E3 is going to be amazing.

[Drainage]

wii u domination, WHAT

[fatstarr]

OH MY .... I just got a good feeling in my tummy.

the dream team in the hands of retro... oohhh

ooo speechless

backed by the wiiu and 3ds Im expecting some Bangers.

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

MEE TOOO!

-I thought it was what something I ate.

Over the past couple of years they have been hiring from some big name companies.

I think whatever they are working on (I think multiple titles) it is going to be stunning -
I think they are going to make something that is photo-realistic w/ all of the "Core" bells and whistle.

I just hope that if it is a SAMUS (Metroid) game that they don't do last gen's mostly Grays and Browns color scheme.

[RTheRebel]

WTF are they working on
must be massive 0_0

[RogueStatus28]

Plus the Naughty Dog and other DarkSiders developers they hired earlier? Can someone work as a janitor over there and give us a sneak peak at what the game is?

[Tone]

The way they are hiring I would change game to games!

[Silly gameAr]

Naughty Dog hired some Vigil devs? Is there a link to an article? I gotta read that.

[iNcRiMiNaTi]

I think you read that wrong. He meant Retro Studios hiring a Naughty Dog dev

[Silly gameAr]

Ohh. My bad lol.

[ahronith]

Im starting to believe Retro Studios is splitting teams up and working on multiple games at the same time...Could u imagine a Retro Studios game once a year?!?! Ahhhhhhh!

[CaptainN]

I was thinking the same thing...team one does the next Metroid (Prime) game, the other does the next Starfox !!!

[Nevers0ft]

You're probably right. At the rate they've been expanding in staff and floorspace recently - either the next game they're developing is huuuuuge or they're currently working on several projects.

[metroid32]

They also hired the man who developed the CE2 GameEngine ect so enormous talent it's no wonder their game engine wowed Epic.

[linkenski]

I'm already imagining a picture of all employees of Retro standing in a single office. It must be the biggest developer ever!

[LastXeno]

They're working on something big in there, can't wait for E3. Assuming it should be ready by then seeing how it was taken out last year's.

[exfatal]

oh man this mysterious game is starting to look promising. im getting excited

[juaburg]

This is going to rape like a DONKEY!!!

[WiiUsauce]

kong

[Nevers0ft]

If it's a Retro-developed Donkey I guarantee you the sex will be entirely consensual :)

[Kevlar009]

I'm actually hoping it's not a major Nintendo IP (though a mature, N64/SNES style StarFox would be an amazing undertaking for them), just to see how they do without a major IP their back. Nonetheless it should be amazing (given their track record with Metroid, Donkey Kong)

Retro, Monolith, and Platinum are looking to be WiiU's Triforce if you will. I'm sure they will deliver

[ahronith]

Word on the street is a new Star Tropics game is in the works by a Nintendo team (SNES)

[LastXeno]

Team Galaxy is already working on the next 3D Mario game... Namco and HAL are working on Smash Bros 4... EAD is working on Mario Kart Wii U and Zelda HD... Intelligent is working on SMT X Fire Emblem... Monolith is working on Xeno... Good Feel Games is working on Yoshi's Yarn. Now we're down to Metroid, Star Fox, and New IP.

[metroid32]

Mayamoto is working on an FPS game that's the rumour.

[WiiUsauce]

Wii U will be a beast to be reckoned with. I can't wait for all the naysayers to eat their words, because there are gonna be some MASSIVE and GORGEOUS games to come from Nintendo in the very near future. It is indeed a great time to be a Nintendo fan, and a terrible time to be a Nintendo hater lol.

[kesvalk]

what about f-zero?

[chronoforce]

fingers crossed for star fox X metroid

[Kevlar009]

StarFox X PilotWings is where it's at

[animegamingnerd]

why aren't you working at nintendo

[ahronith]

I was thinking more Starfox X Pikmin X Pokemon...Gotta catch em all, in space...on a microscopic scale.

[Ck1x]

A StarFox/Sin&Punishment might be a more logical mash-up actually!

[MegaLagann]

They've been hiring so many people lately. It really makes me think that Retro is working on two games, maybe a new IP and a revival (like Star Fox). Or maybe this game is massive and they need more devs. Either way, we should find out at E3. And I swear to Bionis Nintendo if we don't see Retro's game(s) at E3 I will strike down with the power of a thousand suns. 'Sigh' I just want to know what they're working on...

[animegamingnerd]

lets hope they don't pull out at last minute like last E3

[Ck1x]

My guess is not only will they show it, but I think it might get a release date at e3 as well.(or shortly afterwards)

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

I think in 2012 Nintendo were looking in to developing games in the US due to cheaper cost.

Texas, home of Retro, is very cheap at the moment (one reason why Crytek is expanding).

[Rivitur]

If they just hired them wouldnt we ha e to wait until next years e3?

[HalfNerdHalfAmazing]

Whatever Retro Studios is working on gonna be epic

[zerocrossing]

Wow! they must be tackling one heck of a project if they are enlisting all these guys, I can't wait to see what Retro are working on :)

[LastXeno]

Maybe they'll show it @ the next Nintendo Direct? With Bayonetta 2, Pokemon XY, Zelda Wind Waker remake, and X, you never know.

[Chidori]

Can you imagine how amazing Nintendo's E3 showing will be this year? Just thinking about it right now is mind-blowing. While Sony and Microsoft revealing new consoles is great and all, I feel like there's nothing more exciting than GAMES. With the next Smash Bros *which will totally BLOW MINDS*, Retro's secret project, Super Mario U, Mario Kart U, maybe something on Zelda U , a more in depth look of the new Xeno title and whatever other secrets Nintendo has in store for us, I really can't see things getting any better. Nintendo has really been strengthening relationships with 3rd party publishers too, so I feel like there has to be at least one amazing 3rd party announcement that people will love. This is going to be the longest wait ever...

Nintendo should hire Level 5 to work on a grand-scale Pokemon Wii U game.

[Deku-Johnny]

Imagine if Nintendo announce the Pokemon X/Y PokeDex at E3!

[Zeppelino]

You forgot bayonetta 2 ;)

[Ck1x]

People have to understand that yes new hardware gets the industry excited. But people have been waiting many years to see what Nintendo's franchises would look like with a grande HD treatment...

[RogueStatus28]

Wether we get Samus Aran, or Fox McCloud, I know I'm going to get an amazing experience.

[linkenski]

This is awesome news. It's sad to see that Vigil got all split up over the THQ bankruptcy, but at least the remaining talents are put to good use with this collaboration. This just got me all the more excited for hyping Retro's next game!

[jacksheen0000]

Good move Nintendo.

[dreamoner]

lol? I thought Crytek picked up Vigil and named it Crytek Austin :P

[NYC_Gamer]

Crytek only hired the core group

[FinalomegaS]

One of the
I remember a long time ago, there was this small team that grew, they kept making games that the gamers loved... They hit the top with a game to this day gave us found memories... Golden Eye. Eventually what goes up must come down and that light got dim and it was such a sad day to hear they got sold to Microsoft. I am glad they live on ( still wondering what Ken Lobb is up to).

Present
It's been long coming and we finally have that star rising up, giving gamers yet again that bright feeling. I'm sure some of you are old enough to see it when we have a gathering of talent. I remember when Nintendo way back had introduced the "Dream Team".

Let's see what they bring, I don't think they normally show stuff at E3. When they have something over 90% complete then we might see it. Until then, we'll probably only get a title...keep an eye out.

[kesvalk]

that moment when we discover that retro is actually making the new zelda with Eiji Aonuma and got this guys from vigil to help with scenario and new gameplay mechanics...

the day this happens is the day i will be a happy man.

[Deku-Johnny]

This is great news for Nintendo. Can't wait to see what they've been working on. Hopefully it's a brand new IP but I'd welcome a new Metroid with open arms since Retro made the best Metroid game ever.

[1upgamer99]

If you look at Metroid on Wii, which had way less power than the PS3, yet the game looked AMAZING. Can you imagine what Retro Will do with the added power, newer tech than current gen with Metroid. I can not wait to see what they have in store for us! The gamepad to scan too.

[quantae06]

Yeah, I'm thinking they are going with a new graphics style game with improved physics. Building off the gameplay style of Prime 3 or a new Metroid series all together. The next Metroid should be awesome!! I think it be one the best Metroid games of all-time, because Retro sounds really pumped up. I really hope they add online play too. Let's cross our fingers for that...

[CouldHaveYelledUiiW]

I also think that Retro might be going beyond making 1 game at a time.

Before Nintendo bought them- they had 5 or 4 projects going at the same time.
Nintendo cancelled all of them ("Raven Blade" -R.I.P.) and mad them focus on Metroid Prime 1.

It was a wise decision- BUT now Retro has show itself to be very capable-

Given the current tax rates and incentives in Texas and the more expensive Japanese economy- it would be way CHEAPER to make (many) games at Retro than in WA or Japan.

[wiiulee]

nintendo release alot of games every generation and most of all they have release the most triple a quality games while the two other consoles makers lose money on game releases....if we were to take sales of first party titles from the 3 console makers every generation or even this generation coming up..nintendo will be millions ahed