Skip to main content

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond’s stunning first trailer was worth the wait

Retro Studios
Summer Gaming Marathon Feature Image
This story is part of our Summer Gaming Marathon series.

During the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, Retro Studios showed off new gameplay footage of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. The game is coming in 2025 for Nintendo Switch.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was first announced in 2017, reportedly under the development of Bandai Namco. However, in 2019, development shifted to Retro Studios and was subsequently rebooted. There weren’t many substantial updates until now.

The trailer shows gameplay in first-person as Samus guns down a horde of space pirates. Tools like her scan visor return, as does her morph ball. We see her rolling through a vent with it as a facility explodes in the background.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Announcement Trailer – Nintendo Switch

It was also revealed that the bounty hunter Sylux is returning as an antagonist. He appeared in the special endings for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid Prime: Federation Force, which set him up for the events of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

The end of the trailer shows Samus coming out of a cave and into a lush green environment with waterfalls and birds flying. It’s then that the screen fades to black to show the 2025 release window.

What’s unclear, however, is whether Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will release on the current Nintendo Switch or its successor, or both. With rumors that the successor will also launch sometime in 2025, it’s certainly possible that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond could be a launch title for it. It could be a similar situation to how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released on both the Switch and the Wii U in 2017.

While Metroid Prime 4: Beyond won’t launch until 2025, fans can get their Metroid fix with Metroid Prime Remastered and Metroid Dread in the meantime.

George Yang
George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…
Everything announced at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct
An image of the Nintendo Switch - OLED Model Mario Red Edition.

What may be one of the last Nintendo Direct presentations entirely focused on the Nintendo Switch has arrived. While Nintendo was still not ready to talk about its popular platform's successor just yet, this Direct showed that there are still plenty of compelling Nintendo Switch games on the way. We already knew about titles like Luigi's Mansion 2 HD and Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, but we also learned about new games like Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

We also finally got a look at Metroid Prime 4, which now has the full title of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Third-party companies showed up as well, with Square Enix unveiling some HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest games and Capcom revealing Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. To help you keep track of everything that got announced, here's a full recap of everything shown during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct.

Read more
Nintendo Direct June 2024: How to watch and what to expect
Luigi with the Poltergust 5000.

The next Nintendo Direct, confirmed earlier this year alongside a Switch successor, is nearly upon us. Nintendo took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that a lengthy Nintendo Direct is just one day away. This is shaping up to be quite a significant Direct for the Nintendo Switch, as it's quite possibly the last one that we'll get without knowing more about whatever the hybrid gaming platform's follow-up is going to be.

With unreleased Nintendo Switch games like Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition and Metroid Prime 4 still on the horizon, we know Nintendo has some important upcoming games it can talk about. There are bound to be some surprises as well, so all Nintendo fans should be tuning in. If you're planning to do just that, we've rounded up all the necessary information you need to know before watching the June 2024 Nintendo Direct.
When is the June 2024 Nintendo Direct?
The June 2024 Nintendo Direct will begin at 7 a.m. PT on Tuesday, June 18. Nintendo says the presentation will last "roughly 40 minutes," so it'll be wrapped up well before 8 a.m. PT.
How to watch the June 2024 Nintendo Direct
Nintendo Direct 6.18.2024 – Nintendo Switch

Read more
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 seems like it will be well worth the wait
Key art for Stalker 2.

Rumblings about a sequel to the cult classic S.T.A.L.K.E.R, an atmospheric, yet janky supernatural shooter set within the radioactive zone around Chornobyl, have been around since 2010. The current version of the sequel from GSC Game World has been discussed since 2020. It was initially going to launch as early as April 2022, but due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its development has been rife with delays, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was pushed back again and again, all the way until this September.

With only a few months to go until launch, GSC Game World finally had the game playable at Summer Game Fest this year. I went hands-on with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, and it's shaping up to be a brutal survival shooter that will be well worth the wait.

Read more