Nintendo just gave us a juicy glimpse into Metroid Prime 4's open world and its release date! Read on to learn more about what was shown during the September 2025 Nintendo Direct.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Has Samus Exploring on a Motorbike
Launches December 4, 2025
For nearly a decade, the galaxy has been holding its breath, waiting for what awaits Samus Aran’s journey. Today, that wait has finally ceased. During the hour-long Nintendo Direct earlier today, Nintendo gave the announcement fans have been dreaming of. Metroid Prime 4 will officially launch on December 4, 2025, for both the original Switch and the new Switch 2.
The years to this announcement have been anything but smooth. Metroid Prime 4 was first revealed at E3 2017, and for a time, development was reportedly being handled by Bandai Namco Studios. However, in a public statement in 2019, Nintendo EPD’s Shinya Takahashi announced that the project had been scrapped and was restarting from the beginning with Retro Studios at the helm, the same developers that gave fans the previous Metroid Prime games.
The game then went radio silent for years before being formally re-announced with its subtitle, Beyond, and a 2025 release window during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct. It was later confirmed to be a cross-generation title for both the Switch and Switch 2, a move that some fans feared might compromise the game’s potential since the Switch is a far weaker console than the Switch 2.
The new gameplay footage shown during the September Direct, however, seemed to alleviate some of those concerns, as it showcased a game that looks to be a worthy successor to the fan-favorite Prime series. The trailer gave fans their best look yet at the game’s new features and mechanics. Although much of the gameplay remains true to the series’ roots of Samus exploring narrow corridors in alien planets, the trailer revealed that she will be doing so in a motorbike, dubbed the Vi-0-La. Samus uses this to explore a larger and more open-world environment.
In addition to this, Samus may be getting new psychic abilities, a power set that could be used to interact with the world and solve environmental puzzles. The full extent of these powers was not detailed, but the footage showed Samus using them to manipulate objects in her surroundings and opening up new pathways and hidden secrets.
If you like those, Nintendo will also be launching amiibo based on the game. On November 6, fans can pick up a Metroid Prime 4 Beyond Samus amiibo and an amiibo of Samus and her motorbike. On the game’s launch date, though, is when the Sylux amiibo gets released. Sylux is a bounty hunter who appeared in the DS game Metroid Prime Hunters and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. He appears to be an antagonist here in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Somethign something, with a confirmed release date and a wealth of new gameplay details, fans can now look forward to donning Samus Aran’s power suit and exploring Viewros before the year’s end.
For more information on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, check out our article below!
Source:
Nintendo | Nintendo Direct 9.12.2025
