Let’s go back to 2017: the Nintendo Switch is just gaining traction and the Japanese company stops the world with Metroid Prime 4, the return of a cult franchise.
The (first) announcement of Metroid Prime 4
Let’s be fair, the announcement wasn’t all that good, with just a dive into a space revealing the number 4 followed by the name of the game, soberly called Metroid Prime 4. Fans were thrilled, of course, some of them having waited years for this.
Metroid Prime got quite the reception back on the GameCube and Wii, but still was a rare sight. We may have thought that after the announcement in 2017, it wouldn’t take too long for us to learn more about it and that development was going great, this was sadly not the case.
In fact, Metroid Prime 4 was nowhere in sight during the following year at various events, such as our dearly-missed E3. Nintendo didn’t say anything on the matter, of course, but asked fans to be patient and wait until later.
Nintendo reboots the project and starts all over again
Sadly, we didn’t get anything during 2018, and 2019 began with a sad announcement that came as a shock to many: Nintendo, dissatisfied with the results, had decided to reboot the project from scratch, tasking producer Kensuke Tanabe with bringing in Retro Studios, the team responsible for the first three entries in the saga.
Yes, there was another team at helm first, but as usual, Nintendo is quite obscure when it comes to dev studios. This is still the case today, in 2025, with Donkey Kong Bananza for example. We had to wait until the game released to learn that it was made by the team behind Super Mario Odyssey.
At that point, it was clear as a day that we had to be patient to finally see it release. Fortunately, Mario’s home is strong enough to take the blow and take the time it needs to make the best game possible here.
2019 was quickly punctuated by job offers at Retro Studios, seeking key positions to give momentum to the project. Despite everything, they were quick to explain that half of the devs who worked on the third game were still there, hard at work on Metroid Prime 4. This was good news, giving us hope for a successor worthy of the previous games.
2020 and 2021 didn’t bring any real news on the title. However, and to justify it being gone from E3 2021, Nintendo said that the teams were hard at work on the game, but without any further details.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally goes back to the spotlight
It’s in mid-2024, at the end of a Nintendo Direct, that the long-awaited moment took place. A resounding "one more thing" finally showed true gameplay after more than seven years gone. We also learned the full name of the project, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, as well as a release window: 2025.
The wait is over for all of those waiting since the first announcement. Since then, marketing has finally picked up steam, with even a poster being placed in London’s underground.
It was a campaign that got people talking all right, given that the image in question said "Out now", which… Well, of course it wasn’t.
Nintendo reacted quickly and explained that it was a mere printing error. However, this being followed more recently by the listing of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond by the South Korean classification board suggests that there’s an announcement coming soon enough.
When are we getting a release date for the game?
There are rumors poiting to a new Nintendo Direct coming soon, which could finally give us an exact release date for this new installment and let fans finally get their hands on it.
What’s more, the Nintendo Switch 2 has come out during this chaotic development, and the game will come out for both the first hybrid from 2017 and the brand new one, with improved graphics and performance to boot.
It will be the perfect way to discover Metroid Prime 4: Beyond without too many technical concessions due to the first console’s aging hardware.
Tell us in the comments how long you’ve been waiting for this game and what it is you like the most about it!
