Metroid Prime 4 is the next installment in the 3D and first-person Metroid Prime series. Unfortunately, it's been a while since we've had an update, and there's currently no release date in sight.
After the initial announcement in 2017, Nintendo announced in January 2019 that it had scrapped the original project and was starting over with Retro Studios. So, it'd be fair to call this a turbulent development.
Hopefully, will finally be the year that we hear more on Metroid Prime 4, but so far Nintendo is keeping the curtains drawn. Want to know more? Read on for everything we know so far about Metroid Prime 4.
Metroid Prime 4: cut to the chase
- What is it? A brand new Metroid Prime game
- What can I play it on? Nintendo Switch
- When is it coming out? TBC
Metroid Prime 4 platforms
Metroid Prime 4 is coming to the Nintendo Switch family of consoles. So, it'll naturally be compatible with Nintendo Switch Lite and the recent Nintendo Switch OLED model.
In a May 2022 financial update, the first-person adventure title did appear on Nintendo's upcoming schedule but its release date was still marked as TBA without even a year assigned. So, it's likely we'll still be waiting a little longer.
Metroid Prime 4 trailer
Back at E3 2017, Nintendo released a first-look trailer for Metroid Prime 4. To date, it's the only trailer we've seen so far for Metroid Prime 4, and unfortunately it's not heavy on the content side.
Despite there being no more trailers to indulge in, you can keep up-to-date with any new potential content with Nintendo of America's official YouTube channel.
Metroid Prime 4 - what we want to see
There’s so little Metroid Prime 4 information out there that piecing together the story is nigh impossible. What we will say is that Metroid Prime 3’s ending didn’t strike us as open enough for any kind of direct continuation. Though Samus went into hyperspace, giving the opportunity for a sequel to enter a new world or galaxy, we’d say the core story of the original trilogy is now closed.
Back in 2015, Eurogamer interviewed series producer, Kensuke Tanabe, who stated that “the stories of Dark Samus and Phazon are done”, adding that any new games in the series would focus on other Prime-series elements. One thing we can be fairly confident in is that, like other Prime games, Metroid Prime 4 is likely to be a first-person shooter.
Other than that, we can’t say what kind of gameplay changes will arise from either the new developer or the new Switch platform. Coming in as a fresh start, there’s actually plenty of room for Metroid Prime 4 to innovate. Given The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario franchises have embraced more open worlds, we wonder if this is something that Nintendo will bring into the Prime series, too.
If it’s like that, like other Switch games that is, there could be optional motion controls with the Joy-Cons - we’re imagining aiming, firing, and environment scanning, for example.
Metroid Prime 4 news
Searching for clues in the concept art
In February 2022, gaming tweeter Nibel, spotted that Retro Studios updated its Twitter banner to a new, previously unseen piece of concept art that appears to give us our first visual tease of Metroid Prime 4.
The artwork features what looks to be a silhouette of Samus standing in the middle of an atmospheric corridor. The architecture around her looks fairly alien, and the blue filter gives the impression she’s underground or within the gangway of a spaceship. The added border at the top and bottom of the image might suggest we’re looking through another character’s visor, too.
So there you have it, that's everything we know about Metroid Prime 4 so far. For more on Nintendo games, here's all of the upcoming Switch games for 2024 and beyond.