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Readers of N+ may remember a shake-up at Retro Studios occurring earlier this year, when three key executives announced their resignation. Today, three of the key people behind the Metroid Prime series have announced the formation of a new studio that will focus on all platforms: Armature Studios.

Armature Studios is located in Austin, Texas, and will be headed by Mark Pacini, Todd Keller, and Jack Mathews, the former Game Director, Art Director, and Principal Technology Engineer of Nintendo's critically acclaimed franchise.

What does this mean for the future of the Metroid series? Armature Studios is signed to an exclusive publishing contract with Electronic Arts. Under this current contract, Armature is prohibited from developing any Metroid Prime games for Nintendo.

That doesn't mean these employees have lost interest in Metroid, however. Todd Keller stated that: "Personally, I would love to work on another Metroid game. I have been in love with Metroid for years. We had a chance to recreate a game that was created way back when that was awesome."

Fans should note that Armature Studio will have a presence at the Austin Game Developers Conference later this week. Stay tuned to N+ for updates.

Check out the article at Kotaku for more information.