Where is Metroid Prime 4? The Nintendo Switch game, which was only shown through a logo, is alive and well but a declaration may not reassure impatient players.
Big N’s hybrid console is experiencing its last big year. Even if an internal postponement has already been recorded, the Nintendo Switch 2 is on the way and should be available in the first quarter of 2025. The most pessimistic estimate if recent rumors are to be believed. As a result, the Japanese firm is showing timidity with a Switch 2024 line-up with few releases, but above all few new features, and is obviously reserving large cartridges for its next upcoming machine. Including Metroid Prime 4?
Soon news for Metroid Prime 4… or not!
Big N announced Metroid Prime 4 on Nintendo Switch during E3 2017, and set the Internet ablaze with a single animated logo. Nearly seven years later, the game still hasn’t been released and it’s not that “strange” after all. The project was at least restarted once in 2019. Retro Studios recovered its legendary license, and surrounded itself with developers with prestigious CVs. People who worked on GTA 5, Call of Duty, Doom or God of War came to lend a hand, without us knowing if they are still assigned to the game.
Recently, Metroid Prime 4 gave timid news twice. This episode was spotted on an official Nintendo Switch release listing, while YouTuber SuperMetalDave64 suggested that MP4 could be in its final stages of development after putting several clues together.
A release in 2024 on Nintendo Switch for Metroid Prime 4? There was a time, this was what was envisaged according to journalist Jeff Grubb. “A trusted source told me that a marketing campaign will likely launch in May 2024”. Excellent news? Maybe not. “This information I got is very old, so things have probably evolved since then” adds the insider. We know that Big N is the publisher that most of the time announces its games the latest. But that seems a bit short for Metroid Prime 4.
A Nintendo Switch 2 or cross-gen game?
The 2024 release of Metroid Prime 4 is still uncertain, but we can also wonder about the hosting platform. Will the Japanese firm “waste” such a huge cartridge on a console at the end of its life? If the result is there, it would represent a beautiful swan song. But given the upcoming games of 2024, we can have doubts since we will mainly see remasters / remakes to power the Switch. Mario vs Donkey Kong is already out, and in a few weeks, it will be the turn of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for home licenses. Princess Peach Showtime will be one of the only new ones in all of this.
For analyst Serkan Toto, if the postponement of the Nintendo Switch 2 is confirmed, the manufacturer will restrict its releases over the year. There would be reissues of old titles, indie games or productions with external studios, but no huge things developed within Big N. And if there is a game that could slide onto Nintendo Switch 2, It’s Metroid Prime 4. A betrayal in sight? Not necessarily because the company could imitate its competitors by offering cross-gen software accessible on both consoles, with a rendering of course different depending on the platform.