Metroid Prime 4: Release Date, Leaks, and Everything We Know


This article contains information about the 'release-date' of either a movie, game or product. Unless stated explicitly, release dates are speculative & subject to change. See something wrong? Contact us here

July 20, 2022: At the moment there are no new updates on Metroid Prime 4

It's been over a decade since Nintendo last released a new entry in the Metroid Prime series. That being said, interest in Metroid hasn't wained, with the recently released Metroid Dread proving that Samus can shift units on Nintendo Switch by the bucketload. Despite this, it's been a long time since Nintendo's first announced they were making a fourth entry to this sub-series back at E3 2017. Having seen a shaky development, we've heard very little so far about this long-anticipated follow-up to the Prime series, and not many details are currently available. For the time being, here's what we do know about Metroid Prime 4.

Metroid Prime 4 - Latest News

18 February 2022 -

Make of this what you will, but the Metroid Prime 4 developer Retro Studios has updated its Twitter profile banner with some new art. The game has suffered a number of delays but could this be a sign that everything is moving in the right direction. We sure hope so.

click to enlarge

9 February 2022 -

Sigh. Unfortunately no Metroid Prime 4 news. The long wait continues.

8 February 2022 -

Nintendo has confirmed a new Direct presentation airs tomorrow on February 9. Scheduled to kick off at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 10PM GMT / 11pm CET, that's expected to last for "roughly 40 minutes," focus on Switch games launching "in the first half of 2022."

8 September 2021

Former Retro Studios lead designer Mike Wikan offered new details on Metroid Prime Trilogy, explaining Nintendo's wider involvement. Advising us that "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds" of text edits were made to Trilogy, this was done to ensure it fit within Metroid's universe.

18 July 2021

During a Giant Bomb show, VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb claimed that Nintendo was holding off the Trilogy's release for several reasons, namely restricted quality assurance resources and to align it with Metroid Prime 4's release. Read more here.

16 June 2021

While Nintendo's E3 2021 conference offered Metroid Dread's reveal, they advised that Retro Studios are "working hard" on Metroid Prime 4. As told by Shinya Takahashi, he confirmed:

Currently, we're working hard on the latest game in the Metroid Prime series, Metroid Prime 4, which we previously announced.

5 May 2021

New documents from the Epic v. Apple trial showed that Microsoft believed Metroid Prime 4's release date would be holiday 2020, alongside Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild's sequel and Bayonetta 3, Shin Megami Tensei V. Find out more here.

15 December 2020

According to a tweet from developer Retro Studios, the team are looking for a Boss/AI designer to help with Metroid Prime 4. So, if you were expecting an announcement soon, you'll likely be disappointed.

Metroid Prime 4 - Release Date

Right now, we have no idea when Metroid Prime 4 is launching. Although fans are hoping for a 2022 release, we doubt this'll be the case. Back in 2019, Nintendo revealed the game was undergoing a complete do-over.

Stating they weren't happy with development progress, they scrapped it and started over, passing duties to Retro Studios once more. A new announcement may arrive soon, but with the Metroid Prime Trilogy potentially being remastered, that release date might not come soon.

Metroid Prime 4 Trailer

Back during E3 2017, Nintendo gave us a first brief look but sadly, we've not had anything since then.

Developers 

After Nintendo removed the previous development team, Retro Studios are leading this project. Having worked on the previous Metroid Prime games - later moving onto Donkey Kong Country Returns - many fans celebrated this news.

Since then. Retro have hired a number of VFX artists, including Adad Morales (Battlefield Hardline), Bryan Erck (Shadow of the Tomb Raider), and Nicholas Wilson (Borderlands 3). Jon Marcella joined as an environment designer, while Bharathwaj ‘Bat’ Nandakumar is working as a lead engineer.

Gameplay

Right now, we don't have any specific gameplay details, as the previous trailer only confirmed the game was in development. However, as a direct Metroid Prime sequel, we'd expect it to retain that same first-person action-adventure gameplay, one that focuses on exploration over combat.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Metroid, Gaming News, and Nintendo pages.