Metroid Prime 4’s Release Date Seems Apparent Despite Nintendo’s Silence

There are still a few months left to go, but 2025 is quickly coming to a close. Nintendo’s plans for the rest of the year have started to come into focus a bit, with Pokemon Legends: Z-A arriving on October 16th, and Kirby: Air Riders recently being announced for November 20th. Those two games should help the company end on a strong note for the year, but they aren’t the only big exclusives announced for 2025. There’s still Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which does not currently have a release date, even as the year is winding down.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is one of the most highly anticipated games in Nintendo’s catalog. The game was announced all the way back in 2017, at the very start of the Switch era. At the time, Retro Studios was not going to be involved with the game, with the developer instead working on something else. However, development on the game was completely started over from scratch just two years later, with Retro taking over from the previous team (widely believed to be part of Bandai Namco). Nintendo has stuck to a vague 2025 launch window for the Switch and Switch 2 versions, but the company has avoided narrowing down an exact release date over the past few months.

Metroid Prime 4 Is Almost Certainly Arriving in December

Following the announcement that Kirby Air Riders will be released on November 20th, it has become incredibly likely that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will be coming out in the month of December. Traditionally, Nintendo has avoided releasing two games in the same month, with some notable exceptions. For example, August has already seen Drag x Drive released on the eShop, and Switch 2 is also getting Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star-Crossed World this month. However, the latter is basically an enhanced edition of an existing game. When it comes to new titles, Nintendo likes to space them out, even if the audiences might be slightly different.

December has sometimes been a tough month for games. With the holiday season in full swing, it’s easy for even well-regarded games to get lost in the shuffle. Notably, the critically acclaimed Marvel’s Midnight Suns failed to find an audience after releasing late in 2022. However, the hype surrounding Metroid Prime 4: Beyond could help carry it even in a month that often sees mixed success. Fans of the series have been wanting a sequel ever since the last game dropped all the way back in 2007, so it’s safe to assume a release in early December probably isn’t going to hold the game back too much. It didn’t prove to be an issue for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, for instance, which launched in December 2018.

When Will the MP4 Release Date Be Announced?

While Nintendo has been incredibly quiet about Metroid Prime 4 since April, the company has reiterated a 2025 release window several times now. Assuming that’s still the plan, we can probably expect an announcement very soon. The most likely scenario is at a Nintendo Direct in September. Nintendo has yet to announce such an event, but there has been a lot of speculation that we could see a big live stream that month. Typically, Nintendo has held Directs in September, though the company’s normal event structure has been thrown off a bit this year as a result of the Switch 2 launch. However, Nintendo has a lot of lingering questions to answer, and an event in September would help to clear up far beyond just Metroid Prime 4‘s release date.

Now that we know where Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Kirby Air Riders fall in the current release calendar, there are questions about whether we might see a September game from Nintendo. A Nintendo Direct would be a great opportunity for the company to shadow drop something on the eShop, like we saw with the Metroid Prime remaster in 2023. This year happens to be the 40th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros., and Nintendo has yet to make any kind of announcement about a celebration. A new Mario compilation or remaster would be the perfect game to shadow drop during such an event. We also need more details about known 2026 releases, including games like Rhythm Heaven Groove and Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, as well as the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Read Next

Metroid Prime 4 Hands-On: A Stunning Showpiece for Nintendo Switch 2

For now, Nintendo fans will have to wait patiently to see what gets revealed for the month of September. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond would be a big note to end the year on, and an announcement next month would give Nintendo a few solid months to build hype. As a dual system release (like Pokemon Legends: Z-A), Metroid Prime 4 could end up being one of the last really big games released on the original Switch. The game was very impressive during my hands-on earlier this year, but we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to see if the team at Retro Studios can manage to nail the landing.

Do you think we’ll see Metroid Prime 4: Beyond released in the month of December? How are you feeling about the game after everything shown so far? Share your thoughts with me down in the comments section!