There are few games with a development story quite like Metroid Prime 4. From the premature reveal, to the devastating developmental restart, to the rebirth and rechristening as “Beyond,” to the questions regarding cross-gen compatibility, to the controversial new mechanics the game is introducing, the latest edition in the celebrated series has certainly given us a lot to discuss over the years, to the point where it’s hard to believe that we will be playing this title in mere days.
In reflecting on the journey that Metroid fans have been on over the last eight years on a recent episode of the Omega Metroid Podcast, I realized how much of Omega Metroid and its very identity was tied to this game. So I wanted to put together a complete developmental timeline for all Metroid fans to enjoy, full of highs, lows, and parts that land somewhere in between. If you’ll all indulge me, I’d also like to weave in some of Omega Metroid’s history in this timeline as well, since it is intrinsically tied to this release.
To paraphrase a famous quote, you need to know where you’ve been to get where you’re going. So, Hunters, let’s relive the mythical journey of Metroid Prime 4 one more time before December 4th and rejoice — it’s been one heck of a ride to get to this point. Metroid fans — you’ve earned this! Let’s begin:
June 13th, 2017 — Metroid Prime 4 is announced at E3 2017.
Nintendo announces that Metroid Prime 4 is in development, ten years after the release of 2007’s Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Nothing is shown but the famous title splash with the blue flames around the “4” and the starry background, and it’s clear the game is a long way off. But in a 2018 interview with Mashable, then-Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime discussed Nintendo’s strategy of announcing games. “Typically six months to maybe a year out is what we like to do, but there are times for strategic reasons that we believe it’s important to message that a game is coming,” he said, seemingly acknowledging that Prime 4 was announced earlier than it would have been typically to reassure Metroid fans, who had just experienced the disappointing back-to-back releases of Metroid: Other M and Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
January 25th, 2019 — Nintendo confirms that the development of Metroid Prime 4 is being restarted, with Retro Studios announced as new developer.
After a long period of time where no new updates were forthcoming, save for a 2018 quote in the same Mashable article linked above where Fils-Aime stated Metroid Prime 4 was “well into development,” Nintendo dropped a video update for the upcoming sequel that rocked the gaming world. Nintendo Senior Manager Executive Officer Shinya Takahashi made the bombshell announcement that Metroid Prime 4’s development was being completely restarted due to unsatisfactory quality of the game so far.
“The current development progress has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series,” Takahashi said. “Nintendo always strives for the highest quality in our games; and in the development phase, we challenge ourselves and confront whether the game is living up to that quality on a daily basis. We have decided to reexamine the development structure itself and change it. Specifically, we have asked the producer, Kensuke Tanabe, [to] work in trust and collaboration with the studio that developed the original Metroid Prime series, Retro Studios in the United States, and restart development from the beginning. By collaborating and developing with Retro Studios, we believe we can make this game something that will meet our fans’ expectations.
“We did not make this decision lightly,” he continued. “This change will essentially mean restarting development from the beginning, so the completion of the game will be delayed from our initial internal plan. We strongly recognize that this delay will come as a disappointment to the many fans who have been looking forward to the launch of Metroid Prime 4.”
March 3rd, 2020 — Andy Spiteri and Dakota Lasky launch Episode #1 of the Omega Metroid Podcast.
While the delay certainly stung, it wasn’t all doom and gloom, particularly for yours truly. After years of hosting the Zelda Cast, which quickly became the largest Legend of Zelda podcast in the world, I had the idea of forming a podcast network with other Nintendo-focused podcasts, with my first choice being to add a Metroid podcast to the mix. Quickly, however, I discovered a problem — there were no active Metroid podcasts! Deciding to become the change I wanted to see, I formed one myself. As I looked for a co-host, it was a chance meeting with Dakota Lasky in a Discord server that led to the formation of the Omega Metroid Podcast. After a few months of brainstorming, Episode #1 would launch in March.
Metroid Prime 4 would become a focal point of the show over the next five years, with Episode #2 one week later being the first of many “What we want to see from Metroid Prime 4” episodes. It wasn’t until a year later when the show would reach its final form, however…
March 16th, 2021 — Doominal Crossing joins the Omega Metroid Podcast for the first time, and quickly becomes a permanent host.
The podcast steadily built an audience over the next year, attracting Metroid fans desperate for Metroid content and discussion on the road to Prime 4. One of the earliest fans of the show was a user named Doominal Crossing, who would make his debut appearance on Episode #53 of the show, discussing control schemes for a hypothetical Metroid Prime Switch port. Within a few more episodes, Doom was a permanent member of the show.
February 17th, 2022 — Retro Studios updates its Twitter banner with new Metroid concept artwork.
Deep in the thick of the drought that would still last years yet, Metroid fans saw that Retro Studios’ official Twitter account had updated its banner artwork with a new piece of concept art depicting a silhouette of Samus Aran standing in a corridor, with a noticeable blue tint over the artwork. Fans and media alike surmised chances were good that this was a piece of concept art for Metroid Prime 4, which hadn’t been mentioned or brought up by Nintendo in over three years.
While nothing ultimately came of the artwork — in fact, the render of Samus was from the still unannounced Metroid Prime Remastered — it was a hot story as job postings from Retro became more commonplace.
March 3rd, 2022 — OmegaMetroid.com is launched.
To take a quick trip back in time to the summer of 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, I had been laid off from my job for a period of six months and was desperately trying to find something to do to fill the extra time I found myself with, especially since options were limited to just inside the house. At the time, I was the Editor-in-Chief of Zelda Dungeon, the largest Zelda fan site in the world, and had been trying to convince some of my colleagues to play Super Metroid, a game many found challenging. Finding my project to pass the time, I decided to write a walkthrough for the game.
Fast-forwarding to late 2021, I had decided that I wanted to transform Omega Metroid into something beyond (no pun intended!) just a podcast, and start a website with walkthroughs, maps, guides, news, and thought pieces, picking up the torch that websites like Metroid Recon had left behind. Launching the website in 2021 with full walkthroughs for Metroid Dread, Metroid Fusion, NEStroid, and Super Metroid, the site has expanded in the years since to house full guides for almost every Metroid game, video guides, podcasts, community fundraisers, and so much more.
February 9th, 2023 — Metroid Prime Remastered is announced and shadow dropped.
During a very strong Nintendo Direct, Nintendo made the shocking announcement that not only was Metroid Prime Remastered in development, but it was ready to be purchased that day, and for a cheaper MSRP than typical Nintendo games! While not directly related to Metroid Prime 4, this was noticeable for the fact that Retro Studios was behind the game. It was also hard not to see this as something of a proof-of-concept for how Metroid Prime 4 would control and look.
June 18th, 2024 — Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is revealed in a Nintendo Direct.
After an excruciating five-year wait, Nintendo finally showed off the first footage of the newly christened Metroid Prime 4: Beyond! Capping off a Nintendo Direct, this was our first time seeing Samus in the new game, with arch-rival Sylux making a dramatic entrance at the end of the trailer, flanked by two Metroids, punctuated with a killer guitar riff playing in the background. Gameplay was shown as well, showcasing what looked like familiar Metroid Prime first-person-adventure action.
A release date of 2025 was given, and with rumors of a successor the the Nintendo Switch staring to ramp up, speculation that Beyond could be a cross-gen title started to gain traction.
March 27th, 2025 — Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is shown again in a Nintendo Direct, with psychic powers being a highlighted feature.
After another long period of radio silence, Nintendo showcased Metroid Prime 4 in a awkwardly paced Nintendo Direct taking place one week before the Nintendo Switch 2 showcase. This Nintendo Direct was set to focus exclusively on Nintendo Switch 1 games, so showcasing Metroid Prime 4 here was looked at as a curious decision by some at the time. The newest trailer was placed in the middle of the Direct.
Regardless, here we were introduced to Samus’s new physic powers, the planet Viewros, and what we would later come to know as the Vi-O-La Suit. No release date was given at the time, and rumors of Nintendo Switch 2 compatibility were at a fever pitch. Luckily, we wouldn’t have to wait long for clarity on which console Beyond would release on…
April 2nd, 2025 — During the Switch 2 Direct, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is confirmed as both a Switch 1 and 2 cross-gen title.
One week later, during the Nintendo Switch 2 showcase, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition was revealed, confirming suspicions that the game would be a cross-gen title. While no new footage was really shown, we learned of the impressive specs the game would be operating at: Quality Mode – 4K, 60 FPS, HDR (Handheld Quality mode: 1080p, 60 fps, HDR) and Performance Mode – 1080p, 120 FPS, HDR (Handheld mode: 720p, 120 FPS, HDR). Any Switch 1 copies of the game would also have the option to be enhanced, through the purchase of the upgrade pack on Nintendo Switch 2. Lastly, mouse controls were confirmed for the game, completing a robust offering of control options.
April 3rd, 2025 — Nintendo Treehouse highlights the opening of the game in a 17-minute demo.
The following day, a Nintendo Treehouse live presentation featured Nintendo staff playing and commentating on the opening portions of the game. Much was revealed about the game’s plot, including the introduction of Sylux as the leader of the Space Pirates, confirmation of new Metroid types that would have the ability to fuse with other lifeforms, a surprise return — and incredible glow-up — of Metroid Prime: Federation Force’s Golem mechs, and our first look at the artifact in the title logo. We also got a look at the opening boss of the game, the hulking Metroid-infused Space Pirate Aberax, and a good demonstration of the mouse controls in action.
September 12th, 2025 — The latest trailer for Metroid Prime 4 reveals Vi-O-La, three new Metroid amiibo, and confirms release date of December 4th.
In the aftermath of the Nintendo Switch 2 presentation, talk among Metroid fans centred around the marketing of the game and the perceived lack of quality trailers. Another critique was that the gameplay shown so far, while extremely polished, didn’t look like it was moving the gameplay of the series forward as much as some fans wanted. Both of those criticisms were answered in the next trailer shown during September’s Nintendo Direct, which featured the introduction of a large open-world desert, later named Sol Valley, and a new way traverse it: a sleek motorcycle named Vi-O-La.
Such a big change naturally drew some conflicted opinions from fans, but luckily, there was more news for fans to rejoice at: amid rumors that Metroid Prime 4 may have gotten delayed, Nintendo announced a December 4th, 2025 release date for both Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. Additionally, three new amiibo were announced, with Samus (Metroid Prime 4: Beyond) and Samus and Vi-O-La curiously set to release on November 6th, before the game launched, and Sylux slated for a December 4th release.
November 14th, 2025 — Metroid Prime 4 overview trailer launches and press previews go live, with Myles MacKenzie dominating the discussion.
The roller coaster ride of Metroid Prime 4 continued, with a detailed seven-minute Overview trailer dropping, highlighting some of the game’s areas, new mechanics, additional bosses, the introduction of companion characters, and amiibo functionality, among many other details. Reception to the trailer was generally positive, which would last a matter of minutes, as that same day, press previews for Metroid Prime 4 were published in the hour following overview trailer’s release, and the reaction was mixed to say the least.
Major outlets like IGN, Nintendo Life, GameSpot, and more had the opportunity to go hands-on with Metroid Prime 4 and gave feedback. The good was that almost every outlet highlighted the exceptional presentation, cutting-edge graphics, and classic Metroid Prime gameplay. The bad was that Vi-O-La and Sol Valley were not included in the playable demo, which was arguably the biggest question mark about the game. The ugly… well, the ugly was new companion Myles MacKenzie, a talkative guide in the player’s opening moments in Viewros who rubbed many reviewers the wrong way, arguably to the point of hysterics.
“Myles was so annoying and overbearing that I honestly found it hard to focus on what I was doing,” wrote IGN’s Logan Plant. Eurogamer’s Alex Donaldson agreed: “I feel my soul leave my body. I contemplate putting a Samus-sized arm cannon to my temple. One can dismiss this as nitpicking, or anal-retentive, and fair enough. I get it. But for me, the presence of this annoying, chatty git pierces the ambient wonder of this ancient temple Samus is exploring”. Veteran games writer Stephen Totilo weighed in with a less hyperbolic take, posting to his Bluesky account: “For better or worse, canonically, Samus seems to think that Myles MacKenzie sucks, too. As noted in my preview, the impression I got from Nintendo is that he’s not a game-long companion. That you’ll mostly explore without him.”
We’ll see how much of an impact this character has on the final game, but Myles certainly left an impression on reviewers.
December 4th, 2025 — Metroid Prime 4: Beyond releases…
The final stop on our timeline (for now) is December 4th, where more than eight years after the game was announced, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond releases. Omega Metroid will have continuous coverage of the title, good or bad, and our walkthrough has begun already. Metroid fans, give yourself a round of applause — you’ve made it!
With the odyssey that is Metroid Prime 4’s development coming to a close, it feels like the ending of an era for the Metroid franchise, one that saw the renaissance of 2D Metroid with Samus Returns and Metroid Dread releasing to great acclaim, the addition of multiple 2D game to Nintendo Switch Online, and the long-awaited arrival of Ridley to the Super Smash Bros. roster, but also one that carried a sense of, “What could have been?” had the development of Prime 4 not been restarted.
To all the Metroid fans out there — enjoy Metroid Prime 4. My hope is that this game takes the franchise to even higher heights, so breathe it in and savor this moment — we are days away from finally, FINALLY getting to play Metroid Prime 4.
Excited for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond? Check out our guides and latest podcast episodes.
Andy Spiteri is the Webmaster of Omega Metroid and Host of the Omega Metroid Podcast, The Zelda Cast, and Virtual Theater. Probably drinking a Tim Horton’s Double Double as you read this.