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The credits for Nintendo's latest first-party game, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, features more than 20 external studios that helped make the game a reality in its credits.
In 2025, discussion around video games has centered on the size of development teams, focusing on the primary studio's full-time employees rather than the plethora of contractors and external studios, without which developing these games wouldn't be possible.
Famously, many focused on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which has a core team of around 30 people at primary developer Sandfall Interactive while delivering a AAA experience. However, Sandfall's payroll doesn't tell the whole story, and if you look at the credits for Expedition 33, you'll see the names of the hundreds of talented people who made such a project possible.
As spotted by Nintendo Life, not only are 21 external studios mentioned in Metroid Prime 4's credits, but a number of external and independent contractors. Some more interesting names include Next Level Games, a Nintendo-owned studio that develops Luigi's Mansion and Mario Strikers, and Virtuos, a studio that feels like it has assisted every AAA game since the beginning of time.
You might not have heard of Virtuos, but you've played its games. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Hogwarts Legacy, and Horizon Zero Dawn, are just a sliver of the studio's extensive library of hits that it's lent its talents to. Despite these omega successes, Virtuos laid off almost 300 employees this year, and more shockingly, that gigantic figure made up just 7% of its workforce. For the mathematically uninclined, that's almost 4,000 developers ready to assist other studios.
Requiring help from other studios isn't a bad thing – the more developers in full-time employment the better – but Metroid Prime 4 shows that even famously insular developers like Nintendo expand development well beyond its borders.
