Samus was dropped from 'Fortnite' because Nintendo was "hung up" about its characters appearing on other platforms.
Metroid's Samus Aran was scrapped from Fortnite
The 'Metroid' protagonist Samus Aran was rumoured to follow in the footsteps of Xbox's Master Chief ('Halo') and PlayStation's Kratos ('God of War') for the game's bounty hunter season three years ago, but the character was never included in the game despite being planned at one point.
Former 'Fortnite' boss Donald Mustard told Stephen Totilo's 'Game File': "[Nintendo] got really hung up on their characters showing up on platforms that weren't their platforms.
"They would be thrilled to have Nintendo characters in Fortnite, but just only if it's on their platform."
However, that didn't sit right with Donald - who served as Epic's chief creative officer - and the rest of the team.
He explained: "For me and for all of Epic, we're like, 'That is an absolute must. We want to make sure that Fortnite is the same experience, no matter what screen or device you're playing on.' "
Despite the challenges with trying to secure Nintendo's characters, Epic are still keen to make a partnership work one day in the future.
Epic's executive vice president Saxs Persson previously told Axios: "Nintendo has their strategy and we have our strategy, and we hope at some point to use their characters.
"Our players would love it."
The team aren't short on collaborations though, with Lady Gaga appearing earlier this year, while Billie Eilish is set to join the game amid rumours of partnerships with the likes of Metallica, 'Lego Star Wars' and 'Pirate of the Caribbean'.