‘Metroid Prime 4’ Gets a Release Date After Years of Troubled Development

Metroid Prime 4 is alive. Throughout right this moment’s Nintendo Direct occasion, the corporate revealed that the extremely anticipated sequel, now referred to as Metroid Prime 4: Past, is headed to Swap subsequent 12 months.

It’s been roughly seven years since Nintendo first introduced the sport throughout 2017’s E3 occasion with developer Bandai Namco hooked up. On the time, Metroid Prime 4 was anticipated to shut a decade-long hole between itself and the 2007 Wii recreation Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Different titles within the general franchise, together with Metroid: Different M, which received a lukewarm reception, and a remaster of Metroid Prime, had dropped within the meantime, however none had satiated the need for a brand new full Metroid launch. Metroid Prime 4 was supposed to try this—till it disappeared.

Years into improvement, your entire challenge was scrapped and began once more from scratch in 2019 after it did not hit “the requirements we search in a sequel to the Metroid Prime collection,” Nintendo stated on the time. Retro Studios, the collection’ unique developer, was introduced on board for this second shot at Samus Aran’s return, however after their work started information concerning the recreation’s improvement was scant.

Along with revealing that Metroid Prime 4: Past might be accessible for Swap a while in 2025, Nintendo launched gameplay footage that features Samus scanning aliens, taking pictures every thing in sight, and turning into a pleasant neat little ball—the classics, because it have been. Few different particulars got as the sport closed out right this moment’s Nintendo Direct, which additionally included information of a brand new Legend of Zelda recreation, but it surely felt like a deluge after the 5 years of data drought that preceded it.

Metroid Prime 4: Past seems to be arriving close to the tip of the present Swap’s lifecycle. Information concerning the console’s successor is predicted with each new Nintendo occasion, however thus far there was none. Nonetheless, Metroid followers are able to welcome Samus again. Or, as one particular person put it on X with a screenshot of a 2018 receipt: “My preorder lastly means one thing!”