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Metroid Prime 4 is no longer merely a game Nintendo has proved still exists: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was released on December 4, 2025. The long wait began with its 2017 announcement, continued through a development restart announced in 2019, and reached its first gameplay reveal in June 2024. Nintendo’s launch schedule lists the game for Nintendo Switch and a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition.
When was Metroid Prime 4 announced?
Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 in 2017. The project then went years without a gameplay reveal, making the absence of new footage a defining part of its public history. Nintendo Life’s development and announcement timeline covers the intervening history.
Why did Metroid Prime 4 take so long?
In January 2019, Nintendo said development was being restarted with Retro Studios. That restart helps explain why the original announcement was followed by such a long wait for gameplay. The available account establishes the restart and the studio involved; it does not establish further details about the reasons or internal course of development.
What did Nintendo show in the 2024 trailer?
In its June 2024 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo gave the game its subtitle, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and presented what it called the first glimpse of gameplay. Nintendo said the game was coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025. The reveal ended the years-long stretch without gameplay, but it was not the final release update. Nintendo’s June 2024 announcement contains the original release-window wording.
#1 Best Overall
- Explore a mysterious planet to find your way home
- Deadly sharpshooter Sylux has finally caught up with renowned bounty hunter Samus Aran! After an unexpected accident in the wake of their clash, Samus finds herself transported to Viewros—a mysterious planet once inhabited by an ancient race. Now she must explore this planet, all while battling the strange creatures that inhabit it, to find her way home.
- Scan your surroundings for clues, make the most of your equipment and weapons, and use Samus’s newfound psychic abilities—and her technologically advanced bike, the Vi-O-La—to traverse and explore the environment. Operate mechanisms, control your charge beam, and more—you’ll need every tool at your disposal to survive and escape Viewros!
When did Metroid Prime 4: Beyond come out, and what platforms is it on?
Nintendo’s May 2026 launch schedule lists December 4, 2025 as the release date and records both a Nintendo Switch release and a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. The schedule confirms those platform editions, but does not provide a feature-by-feature comparison between them. Check the current official product listing for details relevant to the version you own. Nintendo’s May 2026 launch schedule is the source for the release date and editions.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack - Nintendo Switch 2 [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/415BEE24o-L._SL160_.jpg)
- Two display modes let you choose how to experience the adventure.
- Enjoy more detail in Quality Mode, which runs at 60 frames per second in 4k while docked and in 1080p while in handheld, or prioritize super-smooth action with a higher frame rate in Performance Mode, which runs at 120 frames per second in 1080p while docked and 720p in while in handheld. Both choices are HDR compatible.
Rank #3
![Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41qNSkThD6L._SL160_.jpg)
- 1. Explore the mysterious planet Viewros as the renowned bounty hunter Samus Aran
- 2. Scan your surroundings for clues and make the most of your equipment and weapons to survive
- 3. Use Samus’s newfound psychic abilities—and her technologically advanced bike, the Vi-O-La—to traverse and explore the environment.
Rank #2
- Nintendo Switch 2 features Aim with a Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse Experience enhanced resolution, framerate, and load times in the Nintendo Switch 2 edition of the game
- Explore a mysterious planet to find your way home Deadly sharpshooter Sylux has finally caught up with renowned bounty hunter Samus Aran! After an unexpected accident in the wake of their clash, Samus finds herself transported to Viewros—a mysterious planet once inhabited by an ancient race. Now she must explore this planet, all while battling the strange creatures that inhabit it, to find her way home.
- Scan your surroundings for clues, make the most of your equipment and weapons, and use Samus’s newfound psychic abilities—and her technologically advanced bike, the Vi-O-La—to traverse and explore the environment. Operate mechanisms, control your charge beam, and more—you’ll need every tool at your disposal to survive and escape Viewros!
- Play with mouse controls, enhanced visuals, and two different display modes—only on the Nintendo Switch 2 system Aim with a Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse! The Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition game also features enhanced resolution, framerate, and load times.
- Two display modes let you choose how to experience the adventure. Enjoy more detail in Quality Mode, which runs at 60 frames per second in 4k while docked and in 1080p while in handheld, or prioritize super-smooth action with a higher frame rate in Performance Mode, which runs at 120 frames per second in 1080p while docked and 720p in while in handheld. Both choices are HDR compatible.
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