26 November 2025

Beyond, but it’s almost here—and here’s what you should know

By newsgame

It’s been 18 years since the release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, but the launch of the beloved series’ next entry is just around the corner. Set to launch on December 4, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is one of the longest-awaited sequels in video game history, and its release is something worth celebrating, considering the long, rocky road of development it took to get here. Whether it wows fans and critics when it launches remains to be seen, but at least the next Metroid Prime game is finally almost here.

Metroid Prime 4‘s development history goes back years, and it could be considered a poster child for overcoming development hell—an increasingly present circumstance in the industry. Having successfully made it through a massive studio shift and a complete reboot, though, Metroid Prime 4 overcame the odds and is set to arrive very soon with its renewed ambitions on full display.

Metroid Prime 4’s Development History Goes Back Years

August 2007: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is released.
June 2017: Metroid Prime 4 was officially announced for the Nintendo Switch during E3 / Nintendo Spotlight.
February 2018: Confirmation that the original development studio was Bandai Namco Studios, working in Japan/Singapore.
January 2019: Nintendo publicly announces that development has been restarted and handed to Retro Studios (the original Prime developer).
June 18, 2024: The game is revealed once more with its full title, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
September 12, 2025: Nintendo announces the game’s official launch date of December 4, 2025, for Switch and Switch 2.
November 2025: Demos and final previews appear; file size, technical modes for Switch 2 become public.

Some Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Fans Can Try The Game Early

Early Announcement and High Expectations

When Metroid Prime 4 was first announced via a teaser trailer during the Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2017, it had already been nearly a full decade since the launch of its predecessor, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. The teaser generated intense excitement among fans who had been awaiting news of another Metroid Prime game since the last, even though nothing concrete was revealed in the trailer. At the time, Metroid Prime 4 was described by Nintendo as a “first-person adventure going back to the roots of the original Metroid Prime,” with series producer Kensuke Tanabe heading up its production, and that it would be released “beyond 2017.” There was finally hope for a series that was considered dead and gone.

Development Troubles and Reboot

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime stated in 2018 that Metroid Prime 4 was “well into development” and “proceeding well” with Bandai Namco Studios at the helm, but the game wasn’t shown at E3 that year, leading to concerns that something was amiss. Sure enough, in January 2019, it was announced that the development of Metroid Prime 4 had restarted under Retro Studios with Tanabe retaining his position as the game’s producer. The reason, according to Nintendo EPD manager Shinya Takahashi, was that the previous studio was not meeting Nintendo’s standards.

Re-emergence and Ramp-up

Development troubles with any game can be demoralizing, but Metroid Prime 4 nonetheless kept trucking along until it received a full trailer on June 18, 2024, during a Nintendo Direct presentation. The trailer, now giving the long-awaited game the subtitle Beyond, showcased gameplay and cinematics that were more than enough to all but guarantee its impending arrival and ease the concerns of fans who might have suspected it would never come. The Metroid Prime 4 trailer ended with “2025,” giving the game its first concrete release window since it was announced in 2017.

2025 then rolled into the picture, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond brought even more reveals to whet fans’ appetites. A new trailer was unveiled in March 2025, presenting new gameplay footage, the planet Viewros, Samus’ psychic powers, and more. During the unveiling of the Nintendo Switch 2 in April, Nintendo also announced that the game would receive a Switch 2 Edition with upgraded visuals and optional mouse controls for Joy-Con. Finally, at a Nintendo Direct event in September, a new trailer locked in a release date of December 4 for Metroid Prime 4, along with footage of Samus riding a motorcycle through a desert environment.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond - Survive trailer screenshot

What We Know About Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Platforms and Release

Platforms: Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: December 4, 2025
File sizes
- Switch: approx. 28.9 GB
- Switch 2: approx. 31.6 GB
Switch 2 Resolution and Frame Rate
- Docked
  - Quality mode (4K at 60fps)
  - Performance mode (1080p at 120fps)
- Handheld
  - Quality mode (1080p at 60fps)
  - Performance mode (720p at 120fps)

World and Story Setup

Metroid Prime 4 Green Fury misty view landscape

The story of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is set on the brand-new alien planet Viewros, which has never been mentioned in Metroid lore prior. The game begins when Samus Aran responds to an attack on a Galactic Federation UTO Research Center by her arch-rival Sylux, after which she finds herself in the middle of a disaster and then awakens on Viewros. Viewros is a world filled with hostile fauna, alien ruins, and expansive natural biomes. So far, the following biomes have been confirmed:

A forest biome
An ice/frozen biome
A lava/volcanic biome
A desert biome

Features and Mechanics

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be sticking to the series’ core roots of first-person exploration, atmospheric environments, scan mechanics, progression via upgrades, Morph Ball traversal, etc. However, several brand-new features have been confirmed for the game, some of which carry weighty implications for its gameplay.

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond Samus Aran Galactic Federation Trooper Fire

What fans can expect from Metroid Prime 4‘s gameplay:

First‐person exploration and action
Scan Visor lets players scan enemies, flora/fauna, objects, and lore
Morph Ball ability
Traditional weapons like Samus’ arm cannon, missiles, etc.
Psychic powers that let Samus manipulate objects, bend beam trajectories, and interact with alien mechanisms
Motorcycle called the Vi‑0‑La Samus can be used to traverse larger environments
Support for mouse-style control on Nintendo Switch 2

While the return of classic Metroid Prime mechanics is bound to resonate with longtime fans of the series, the addition of new features like Samus’ Psychic powers and Vi-0-La motorcycle should take things up a few notches. Samus’ new Psychic powers in Metroid Prime 4 are likely linked to the franchise’s iconic puzzle-solving gameplay, while the addition of a motorcycle heavily implies much larger environments for players to traverse.

Clearly, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is shaping up to be a strong return to one of Nintendo’s most beloved series, combining what many players loved about its gameplay then with the new innovations in modern gameplay and visuals. At one point, fans had been waiting years for its release with no end in sight. Now, they’re finally only waiting days.