Nintendo’s Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is shaping up to be one of the most important first-party releases this year, and marks the perfect sci-fi game to round out 2025. Not only that, but it may be one of the last first-party games released for the Nintendo Switch before the Switch 2 kicks off in full. Fans have been waiting since 2017 for a release, and with the hybrid Switch generation approaching its final phase, expectations are just high. For Nintendo, for the franchise, and for the future of the series, Metroid Prime 4 carries more weight than many casual observers realize.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Part of the excitement comes from the renewed interest in the Metroid series over the past few years. Metroid Dread delivered a major comeback for 2D Metroid, generating strong sales, enthusiastic fan reception, and widespread critical acclaim. But it was still a side-scrolling Metroidvania, a genre beloved by fans but not nearly as mainstream as first-person shooters. Metroid Prime 4 represents a re-entry into the FPS space and a chance to get more interested in the series and Samus Aran.
Metroid Prime 4 Has the Appeal to Perform Well
The most important element behind Metroid Prime 4’s potential success is its genre. First-person shooters consistently rank among the highest-selling genres across modern platforms. While the Metroid series has always had a passionate fanbase, most of its games belong to a more niche category, side-scrolling Metroidvanias. The Prime games, however, bridge the gap between atmospheric exploration and accessible, action-oriented gameplay, a combination capable of attracting far more players than a traditional Metroidvania, despite its increase in popularity.
Metroid Dread proved the brand still has momentum, but Prime 4 can bring the franchise to a far broader audience. Many players who never engaged with 2D Metroid are far more open to FPS-style experiences, especially those with strong world-building and high production values. If Prime 4 lands with the polish fans expect, it could draw in action-adventure players, sci-fi fans, and even lapsed Metroid players who skipped the 2D entries. Metroid Prime Remastered showed the potential for Prime 4; Nintendo just has to deliver.
There’s also the fact that Prime 4 has had an unusually long development, including a complete production reboot at Retro Studios. That kind of restart signals Nintendo’s commitment to quality. They want Prime 4 to hit the same ceiling as major Western AAA titles, not just for fans, but for the reputation of the Switch’s successor. With the updated engine work, modern design sensibilities, and a far more technically capable console behind it, Metroid Prime 4 could be the strongest, most ambitious Metroid game ever created.
Metroid Is One of the Last Nintendo Games for the Original Switch
Another major factor affecting the importance of Metroid Prime 4 is timing. It arrives at the tail end of the original Switch’s lifecycle, during a transition period where Nintendo will likely cease supporting the old system in favor of its next-gen successor. That puts Prime 4 in a rare position: it will be one of the last significant first-party releases designed with the current generation in mind, while also acting as a technical showcase for the new hardware.
Nintendo’s hybrid strategy, launching a game across two generations, has worked before. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild became a landmark title not only because it launched a new era for the Switch, but because it demonstrated a leap forward from what Wii U players had seen. Prime 4 could serve a similar purpose. Even if it performs well on the original Switch, the more powerful Switch 2 hardware will allow Retro Studios to highlight better textures, cleaner resolution, improved performance, and more atmospheric depth. Those upgrades alone could make Prime 4 one of the first must-own titles for the Switch 2, attracting players who want a true next-gen experience.
Because it’s arriving at the end of one era and the beginning of the next, Metroid Prime 4 becomes a symbolic game for Nintendo’s strategy. How well it lands could influence how players perceive the value of upgrading to the Switch 2 and how willing they are to adopt early. Launch windows depend heavily on momentum, and Nintendo knows that showcasing a visually stunning sci-fi action title is a smart way to widen the appeal beyond family-friendly games. The holiday release further amplifies this.
Success Could Give Us Metroid Prime 2 + 3 Remakes
For longtime fans, perhaps the most exciting possibility tied to Metroid Prime 4’s success is the potential revival of earlier games. The remastered Metroid Prime launch on Switch proved there is still strong demand for the series’ earlier entries, but Nintendo has remained quiet about remasters of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Fans have been passionate about their requests for these games to be remastered, and there is a good chance that Metroid Prime 4 can influence Nintendo’s decision.
If Prime 4 sells strongly, the path becomes obvious: Metroid Prime 2 & 3 are likely to follow. Remakes of the second and third entries could complete the modern Prime collection, bringing the entire saga to the Switch 2 in an upscaled, modernized form. This would let new players experience the full trilogy without older control limitations or aging visuals. Given how highly praised the first Prime remaster was, there is little doubt that updated versions of 2 and 3 would perform well.
On top of that, Metroid fans have waited over a decade for a fully modernized package of the Prime series. Nintendo typically greenlights remaster projects when they know the audience is enthusiastic, and Prime 4’s success could provide exactly the kind of data they need.
If all three games exist cleanly on the Switch 2, Nintendo could position Metroid as a renewed flagship franchise. A strong showing from Prime 4 would not only increase interest in remakes but also influence the future of new entries, spin-off titles, and even cross-media opportunities, such as a Metroid film. In other words, the fate of the whole series may hinge on how this next game performs.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Focus Features.
