Metroid Dread – MercurySteam work policy cause staff went uncredited

Metroid Dread – MercurySteam work policy cause staff went uncredited

MercurySteam, developer of Metroid Dread, is currently the point of some discussion, seeing as former staff members came forward claiming they weren’t credited for their work on Metroid Dread.

3D artist Roberto Mejías took to LinkedIn to express a combination of confusion and disappointment that he was not listed in the credits for Metroid Dread, despite assets he worked on during his time at the studio still being featured in the final product.

Uncredited work claims

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 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?

Another MercurySteam staff member also claims to be uncredited, who said they worked on Metroid Dread for eleven months. Although wanting to remain anonymous, they left the following statement;

Not accrediting the work of the team that puts all the love in the project, and the effort, is a very ugly practice.

A slightly disappointing reply from MercurySteam;

The policy of the studio requires that anyone must work on the project [for] at least 25% of the total development of the game to appear in the final credits. Sometimes exceptions are made when making exceptional contributions.

Work on Metroid Dread probably began shortly after Metroid: Samus Returns was released in 2017, the game then was in active development for about four years. This unfortunately means only those that worked on the project for at least a year would reach the 25% threshold required by the studio for their name to be included in the credits.

It is what it is, but we can understand both parties regarding this.