Nintendo has released a statement in the wake of the Nintendo Switch to try and provide a little bit of insight on their position with the Metroid series. Currently, it’s one of the few Nintendo series which doesn’t have a confirmed game for the upcoming Nintendo Switch console.

The Nintendo President of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, has suggested there could be a new game coming to the new console. When speaking to IGN, the Nintendo President stated that the company is “committed” to the  franchise. He states that Nintendo is aware that their fans would like to see Metroid games on the Nintendo Switch.

According to him, the Metroid franchise is one of the “crown jewels” of Nintendo and that the company wants to focus on the franchise as they move forwards.

Fans of the Metroid series are still unconvinced by this statement. Considering Nintendo’s lackluster approach to the series, it’s easy to see why many are still doubtful. The Metroid series turned 30 years old last year and Nintendo did nothing to commemorate to event.

Despite this, Nintendo did release a new Metroid game last year; the spin-off game was titled Metroid Prime: Federation Force and is a co-op shooter game for the Nintendo 3DS. It’s a very different game to the main series and surprisingly,  Samus Aran is not the main character.

The new Metroid game received a very negative reaction from fans and the majority of critics. Fans even claimed that Nintendo was using the series name to sell an unrelated game to boost its sales. When the game was first announced, a pettition was even started by fans requesting that Nintendo cancel the game.

Clearly, Nintendo has had a bad relationship with the Metroid series in recent years. This new statement from Nintendo could mark the change that fans of the series have been hoping for. Fils-Aime suggests that fans could need to wait until next year for more news about the series.