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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Release Date Window And Everything We Know

The long awaited sequel to the beloved Metroid Prime series is still largely a mystery. Here's everything we know about the next entry in the Metroid series, Metroid Prime 4.

55 Comments

It has been more than 15 years since the Nintendo Wii got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, which at the time seemed as if it brought an end to Samus Aran's first-person adventures. However, Metroid Prime 4 was announced in 2017, instantly becoming one of the Nintendo Switch's most anticipated games despite fans only knowing the name and the logo. In the years since, we have heard very little about the game's progress as it's undergone multiple delays. Now it appears to be on-track for a 2025 release, so we won't have to wait much longer. Here is what we know about Metroid Prime 4 so far.

Release date

Nintendo has not revealed a specific release date for Metroid Prime 4, but it has narrowed it down to a release window. At the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, the company showed a new trailer that debuted the new title, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and announced it's coming in 2025. Prior to that, Nintendo had simply stating that the game was "in development" during E3 2017 before later offering an apology for the wait back in 2019, and then subsequently missing that window as well. Nintendo also recently updated the Metroid series homepage, and the change reiterated a 2025 release date.

What we know so far

In the grand scheme of things, the real answer is "almost nothing," but there are a few things we've come to understand about Metroid Prime 4's development.

According to reports, Metroid Prime 4's development initially began under Bandai Namco rather than an internal Nintendo studio, but Nintendo was unhappy with the game's quality at the time. It announced early in 2019 that development was restarting, this time via Retro Studios, the American studio behind the first three Metroid Prime games. Producer Kensuke Tanabe, who also served in this role on the first three games and Metroid Prime: Hunters, is back, as well. While these developments bode well for the game's final quality, it doesn't give us any indication of when it will be ready to be shown again.

As for what Metroid Prime 4 will be about, once again we don't have a whole lot to go off of. At the end of Metroid 3: Corruption, Dark Samus and Phazon were both defeated, leaving Samus ready to move on to the next big challenge the universe decides to throw her way.

And while the latest trailer doesn't tell us much about the story, it did show Samus showing up to a planet that appears to be a warzone between different alien factions. The trailer showed series mainstays like scanning and lock-on targeting for enemies, along with a mysterious villain who appeared to be flanked by two metroids.

To catch up on the story, be sure to read our Metroid Prime story primer for all the details on where Samus has been in this series, along with some speculation about where it could go next.

Platforms

This was one of the few aspects of Metroid Prime 4 that seemed certain in the past, that Metroid Prime 4 was destined to appear on Nintendo Switch. Now that it has a 2025 release date, it is possible that Metroid Prime 4 will be a swan song for the Switch or a cross-generation release between Switch and Nintendo's next console. We know that Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with Switch 1 games, so you'll definitely be able to at least play Prime 4 on the hot new hardware. It remains to be seen, though, if the new console will give it any kind of performance boost.

Trailers

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Is there multiplayer?

Without confirmation of other features, it's completely unclear if Metroid Prime 4 will feature multiplayer. This question is made even murkier because, of the Metroid Prime games released so far, several have multiplayer, while others do not. While tacked-on multiplayer is becoming less common in today's big-name game releases, right now it seems impossible to rule out.

Preorder details

You cannot currently preorder Metroid Prime 4. Once preorders are live at retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, and Target, we will update this section to detail any bonuses they offer, though Nintendo games typically limit these to physical goodies rather than in-game content.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

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Avatar image for 13whitebread
13whitebread

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Everything we know so far which means you know nothing good report of something every gamer knows right now

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Avatar image for hardwenzen
hardwenzen

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Looks like a sequel to Halo 4.

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santinegrete

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Oh finally it's coming, I just hope producer still has it.

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Type-F

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Useless targeting page, this article is for SEO click bait algorithm. Gamespot don't know how to market their site and will run out of business soon. Let me market your useless site without weak targeting page tactics just to gain some weak klouts lol

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NiceMouse

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Hook line and sinker!

Oops... I did it too.

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djezhel619

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Another useless so-called "update".

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PCPS4XB

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The switch is a nice portable console for on the go but I'm not all that Impressed with their 1st party offerings so far. They really need to double down on their AAA releases

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so_hai

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So annoying waiting for this one...

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soulmuncher666

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Thanks for all that info.

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JustPlainLucas

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Why was this even updated?

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Fud_Sang

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What Metroid fans know is that the game isn't coming out anytime soon and we know nothing about it whatsoever. We also know that we don't really care because a much better looking Metroid game is coming out much sooner than anyone thought.

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DoomsdayHell01

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So basically what you know right now is basically nothing so it begs the question why are you even writing the article to report and write about nothing.

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ZmanBarzel

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@doomsdayhell01: It’s an SEO play. People are googling things like “Metroid Prime 4 release date” and “Metroid Prime 4 preorder,” and this article will show up pretty damn high on the results page. For example, those two searches return this lone article at No. 6 and No. 3, respectively.

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ComicSausage

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Edited By ComicSausage

If retro studios are developing this, then it will be great, but their attention to detail means it will be late, very late. imo when a new switch comes out perhaps 2023?

I have just finished Metroid Prime again actually, but on the dolphin emulator with the HD texture pack added. its so so nice with hd textures. Why this isnt on the switch considering the texture pack was made by a fan is beyond me. it would be so easy for nintendo to release metroid prime hd on switch! with a nice collectors case or whatever, like release that, metroid prime 2, and metroid prime 3 as 3 seperate hd games ready for metroid prime 4

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Avatar image for clockworkengine
clockworkengine

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Love these useless content dumps you guys do from time to time here. I hope your investors are either really stupid or don't keep an eye on their investment future via analyzing today's content, because the writing is on the wall.

If you can't handle the business when it's slow, you can't handle the business. Try political news or something lol

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R4gn4r0k

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@clockworkengine: This whole article couldn't been summarized with the word "Nothing"

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Icy_the_penguin

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You know these articles are similar to traffic tickets. You know they’re pointless and probably will upset people but you met your deadline/quota.

Can’t wait for the Half-Life 3 one.

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Seymour47

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@Icy_the_penguin: I'm waiting for the "How much do we know about the rumored 'secret game' from [Insert Developer]?" articles. You know they are coming and they will literally just be random letters typed by having the "author" smash their face on their keyboard. It will be just as worthwhile as all the current how much do we know articles.

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Robbie23

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Imagine Metroid fusion, but made in Metroid prime style. That would be amazing.

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Seymour47

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I swear to god, every time Gamespot has a 'what we know' article the answer is nothing. I keep clicking on them because I want to see if GS is still up to it's sleazy clickbait ways with these, and they still are. Jokes on you guys though, cause you get no ad revenue from me.

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illegal_peanut

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GS: "We know it has a title... Aaaaaaaaaand that's it. Thanks for your clicks everybody!"

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itchyflop

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re paged nothingness.

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blankfaced

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What exactly was the point of this? You literally wrote an article to say you know nothing....WHAT WAS THE POINT DAMMIT!?

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itchyflop

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@blankfaced: to get hits and generate business or money.

Your on here as well as me, so there are two people "HITTING the page.

I get what you're saying, try to think of GS in a business sense instead of you and me.

It makes total sense if you do.

Its just a waste of time when you view it from "our" view.

:)

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Avatar image for deactivated-611a5e2c32f34
deactivated-611a5e2c32f34

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What baffles me the most, is why we havnt received the prime collection for download while were waiting. Its quite simple really.

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Seymour47

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@climhazard5: Because it's Nintendo and they take a million years to do things. I'd be surprised if they ever do something like this. They aren't known for providing ways to get discounts on their popular games, no matter how old they are.

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itchyflop

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@climhazard5: best idea I've heard in a long time, including the Gameboy advanced versions.

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barnold81

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What Gamespot knows about the game - absolutely nothing.

I will say this about the game though - Metroid does not need multiplayer. It's a game about exploration. I would rather the development team spends all the project resources on making sure the game story, presentation, sound, music and overall gameplay experience is up to the standard of Nintendo's greatest titles. Given the amount of time they're putting into this, and that they had to basically start over, I think they are taking this project very seriously. I can wait.

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deactivated-611a5e2c32f34

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@barnold81: Agreed. Really hoping multiplayer is not shoe horned in.

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BlackBladeRune

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It actually was up for preorder for a short time on Best Buy. Right before my Gamers Club Unlocked ran out, I preordered it along with anything else that seemed interesting. For awhile, both Biomutant and Prime 4 were the only things keeping that order in the "Open" status. Now it's just Prime 4 and I really just need it to come out so my open orders page can be clear. . .

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zodiacsword

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You assholes get my hopes up only tell me what I already, and what everyone already knows. Get this article out of here.

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Avatar image for deactivated-64efdf49333c4
deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@zodiacsword: No need to be nasty, but, yeah, this site is putting out way too much of this grade school type stuff lately.

Anyone recommend good stateside news? Eurogamer does decent stuff, but I need something more local alongside it.

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Seymour47

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@Barighm: Honestly, at this point, I say go ahead and be as nasty as you can get away with. GS is clearly just click baiting with these articles. It's lazy and disingenuous they deserve the flack they get for it.

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Avatar image for deactivated-64efdf49333c4
deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@Seymour47: No, being critical doesn't require anyone to be 100% a dick, and anyone who believes otherwise is a child that deserves to be banned from the internet.

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Seymour47

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@Barighm: Given how frequently these articles end up with zero information, I think being a dick about it is perfectly fine. At this point they deserve it.

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clockworkengine

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@Barighm: Ironic that the first half of that sentence was critical and the second half of that statement was 100 percent dickish lol

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Avatar image for deactivated-64efdf49333c4
deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@clockworkengine: If you actually think my comment was overly critical or highly dickish then you clearly live a blessed life free of any real conflict or challenges (and never seen Guardians of the Galaxy). There are people who actually hunt down and harass anyone who disagrees with them. Worse, they actually think they have a right to be that way. That's just sick. But yeah, sure, my comment is on par with that. Grow up.

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clockworkengine

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@Barighm: Do you always swing for the fences? Vary up your approach.

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Avatar image for deactivated-6793e8ba0e8bf
deactivated-6793e8ba0e8bf

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@Barighm: I too would be interested.

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Avatar image for deactivated-64efdf49333c4
deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@lionheartssj1: That's the thing. I get a lot of responses from people saying they're interested in referrals, but NOBODY, in over two years of me asking, has ever suggested a website. All I ever get is "they all suck".

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Avatar image for deactivated-6793e8ba0e8bf
deactivated-6793e8ba0e8bf

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@Barighm: Out of the ones I've found that are active daily, they still resort to some sort of click-baiting to utilize the ad revenue system...pump out content, bump content, multi-page lists, doesn't matter what it is or the quality. Inflammatory headlines and spoiler headlines have become soup du jour. Not to mention the various forms of activism, almost exclusivity tilted one way. Probably wouldn't be as bad if there was some semblance of nuance, but I guess that ship has sailed. When I was on here in the early 2000s it was love of the game, now you're lucky if you can avoid a lecture. Anyway, I feel like if google didn't control traffic and ad revenue there would be a real opportunity for someone to start a dedicated video game site.

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Avatar image for deactivated-64efdf49333c4
deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@lionheartssj1: Well, I don't know if Eurogamer is much better, but I've been using it for a few months now and all I ever see is news, and just news, in their news columns. Maybe the odd bit of drivel, but it's rare or clearly marked, and I certainly don't see childish summaries of Clueless Gamer segments, the weekly Xur update, or someone telling me what they DON'T know about certain games. Maybe they do have that stuff at Eurogamer, but the site seems to be designed so that all I see in the news section is, in fact, news, and they usually get it days before GS ever finds out about it.

But, that's for Europe. It's not local news.

All I'm saying is...there has to be another website like that somewhere. I mean, I tried to start one, but I got a grand total of 13 subs (and none of them donated) and that was the end of that. And, really, nowadays you probably do just fine following the official announcements channels for Xbox, PSN, and Nintendo. You might not get as much juicy news, but at least you'll know all of the games coming out in the next little while.

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Avatar image for deactivated-6793e8ba0e8bf
deactivated-6793e8ba0e8bf

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@Barighm: That sounds good, I'll have to check them out.

Also, I didn't know you tried starting one! Does you no good now, but I would've tried to support. I've kicked around the idea of starting one with a buddy, but it's always put on the back burner for work/family/etc. Do you still own the address?

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Avatar image for deactivated-64efdf49333c4
deactivated-64efdf49333c4

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@lionheartssj1: No, it was one of those trial account deals. When it came time to upgrade I didn't bother and everything was taken down. It was just something to do during all the lockdowns. Also, without actual sources I was pretty much just ripping off other news sites. You have to have real sources to report anything truly juicy, and there are codes of conduct and stuff involved in journalism most people don't know about (although most websites don't seem to care).

If I did it again, I'd probably just run it through Facebook or something.

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Avatar image for tingtong
tingtong

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Hey, look what game is coming out with the Switch Pro!

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dynamomaster

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Came in expecting nothing.

Left with nothing.

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