Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Nintendo Switch OLED
Image: Nintendo Life

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is out now, if you can believe it.

It's been a long time coming, of course, with Nintendo initially announcing its existence all the way back in 2017. Since then, development had been completely restarted under the talented Retro Studios, and Nintendo remained tightlipped on Prime 4's progress until 2024.

In this guide, we'll recap the entire development timeline for Metroid Prime 4, including its official trailers, information on the development team switch to Retro Studios, and anything else that's cropped up over the eight years or so from announcement to release.

When did Metroid Prime 4: Beyond release?

Prime 4 Bike
Image: Nintendo

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond launched on 4th December 2025. Nintendo confirmed a release date during a Nintendo Direct on 13th October 2025.

Three amiibo figures were also confirmed and launched: Samus, Samus & Vi-O-La, and Sylux.

The first two released on 6th November 2025, and the third - Sylux - landed on 4th December 2025 alongside the game itself.

Prime 4 amiibo
Image: Nintendo

What information was released prior to Prime 4's release?

Nintendo had been slow to reveal details about the new Metroid Prime, despite making its existence public all the way back in 2017.

In 2019, it confirmed that development had been restarted completely, while official news regarding its release would eventually begin in 2024.

Metroid Prime 4 Trailers

The two-minute trailer, which effectively reintroduced Prime 4, showed Samus' ship arriving on a planet suffering an orbital attack. The bounty hunter exits the ship and we see clips of her crossing terrain, scanning an injured Space Pirate, and infiltrating an installation using her Morph Ball ability before the arrival of Sylux — a bounty hunter who first appeared in Metroid Prime: Hunters — accompanied by a pair of Metroids. The trailer finishes with a shot of Samus that pulls back and pans across a lush forestal world with a picturesque waterfall and an enormous tree towering above.

The second trailer showed Samus beginning her adventure on planet Viewros. We get a glimpse of her returning scan visor and a reveal of some psychic abilities. We can see her use these to manipulate objects, open doors, and even alter the trajectory of her shots. New and returning enemies crop up alongside a mysterious race called the 'Lamorn', with the trailer ending with a new suit reveal.

The third trailer revealed 'Vi-O-La', Samus' motorbike accessory which she can use to travel across the vast expanse of Viewros. We see more combat gameplay, and yet another glimpse of antagonist Sylux.

Who's developing Metroid Prime 4?

Metroid Prime 4 was developed by Retro Studios, the same company responsible for the previous Prime games.

This came after a false start with Bandai Namco Singapore initially developing the project (see below for the full story about the Prime 4 restart).

Approximately half of the development team who worked on the last entry in the proper Prime series are reportedly still at Retro, with fewer than 10 of those having worked on the first Metroid Prime game — the main creatives and project leads left years ago (or have sadly passed away).

Of course, the delay severely impacted the rollout of information. Nintendo was understandably reluctant to discuss any project until it could deliver concrete details, footage, and other information to its audience, and the early reveal of the in-development game was intended to placate Metroid fans wondering why Metroid: Samus Returns was on 3DS rather than Switch. That plan backfired somewhat with the delay resulting in years of radio silence.

On the plus side, the existence of both Metroid Dread and Metroid Prime Remastered softened the blow to fans eagerly awaiting Metroid Prime 4 news.

When was Metroid Prime 4 announced?

The first Metroid Prime 4 announcement was made on 13th June 2017. The game was revealed — without the 'Beyond' subtitle — with a logo at E3 2017.

Metroid Prime 4
The teaser Metroid Prime 4 logo from 2017

Is there any Metroid Prime 4 concept art?

Nintendo didn't release any concept art for Metroid Prime 4: beyond prior to its release, but there's a whole bunch viewable via the in-game menu. You do, however, have to unlock them by completing in-game tasks.

How does Metroid Prime 4: Beyond perform on Switch 2?

Prime 4 released on the Switch and the Switch 2, with the latter boasting several improvements over the Switch version. This includes optional mouse controls and the following performance enhancements:

Docked - 4K/60fps or 1080/120fps
Handheld - 1080p/60fps or 720p/120fps

Are the other Metroid Prime games on Switch?

Super Metroid

Yes, Metroid Prime Remastered launched on Switch in 2023. And there's been plenty of rumour and speculation suggesting Prime 2 and 3 are coming, although no official confirmation.

Here's a list of all seven Metroid games on Switch, including all the non-Prime games:

In 2019 leak group LeakyPandy believed that both a Super Metroid remake and an HD update of Wii's Metroid Prime Trilogy were in development, in addition to Metroid Prime 4, although LeakyPanda's track record is patchy. We do now have a remaster of the original Metroid Prime on Switch, but its direct sequels are still in question at the time of writing.

If Nintendo wants to whet the appetite of Metroid fans and potentially onboard new players who may have missed the original games across GameCube and Wii, bringing the entire Prime Trilogy to Switch is the most obvious option. Having the entire series on Switch would be a dream come true for many fans, and would act as a great 'apology' following the Metroid Prime 4 delay.

Getting all three Prime games on Switch seems like an open goal, but will Nintendo tap it in? Fingers crossed.

Metroid Prime 4 - The long development story

We start back in 2017. In a move that went against Nintendo's general rule of only discussing games releasing in the coming year, the company revealed a logo for Metroid Prime 4 way back at E3 2017, just three months after the release of Switch. Confirming that the game was in development, it soon came to light that Retro Studios, the development company that made the original trilogy of games on GameCube and Wii, was not involved (at that time).

Regardless of who was involved, the very existence of the game created ripples of excitement among series fans. The following February it was revealed that Bandai Namco Singapore was working with Nintendo on Metroid Prime 4. The company has co-developed (or assisted development of) several Nintendo games in the past including entries in the Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. franchises, so it was hardly a surprise that Nintendo might turn to them for assistance with Metroid.

Come E3 time, Nintendo made it clear that Metroid Prime 4's announcement the previous year was "a departure from [its] usual approach" of focusing on "near-term stuff" and would not be appearing in E3 2018's Nintendo Direct broadcast.

Despite its no-show, Reggie reassured us in July that development of Metroid Prime 4 was "proceeding well" and clarified that its unusually early reveal was intended to reassure Metroid fans that, in addition to Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS, there was also a Metroid game in development for Switch; the 'new system'.

A photo of the Nintendo of America president wearing a Metroid shirt sent the rumour mill into overdrive, but in November 2018 he once again assured fans that the game was well into development. We had nothing to worry about!

Or so we thought. In a classic 'Please Understand' moment, an official statement and video apology from Nintendo confirmed that the existing Metroid Prime 4 had been shut down and the project would be restarted with the involvement of original Metroid Prime development studio, Retro.

So, why was Nintendo’s first attempt at Metroid Prime 4 cancelled? Shinya Takahashi, Senior Managing Executive Officer at Nintendo, explained that "the current development progress has not reached the standard we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series."

It was very disappointing news, to be sure, although the fact that Retro Studios was back in the frame helped mitigate ire from fans. Soon, job listings started cropping up indicating that Retro would be starting from scratch rather than using any work already done by Bandai Namco. In June 2019, Retro was still seeking an Art Director for the project, with ex-Halo character modeller Kyle Hefley reported to have joined the studio by October, and ex-DICE art director Jhony Ljungstedt moved from EA's studio to Retro - potentially working on Metroid Prime 4, although that remains unconfirmed.

A rumour that environmental work on the game might be outsourced to external providers in order to make up for 'lost time', coupled with the trickle of hiring news that had leaked, indicated that there was still a long way to go with Metroid Prime 4 development. During its E3 2021 Nintendo Direct — the one where Metroid Dread was revealed — the company said it was still "working hard" on Prime 4, but didn't provide any further updates.

Finally, on 18th June 2024, Metroid Prime 4 gameplay was revealed for the first time during the Nintendo Direct, plus a logo and the full title: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Following this, another gameplay trailer was revealed during a Nintendo Direct on 27th March 2025.

A release date for the game was finally confirmed during Nintendo's September 2025 Direct, with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond dropping on 4th December 2025 on Switch and Switch 2.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond Samus

So there you have it; a full recap of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond's long and somewhat troubled development. We'd say it was all worth it, however, and awarded the game a score of 9/10 on Switch 2.

If you're eager for more marvellous Metroid content, feel free to check out our ranking of the best Metroid games of all time.