Metroid Prime 4: Beyond | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Retro Studios |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Producer(s) | Kensuke Tanabe |
Series | Metroid |
Platform(s) | Nintendo Switch [1] |
Release | 2025 |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure [2] |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was announced at E3 2017, and was reportedly initially developed by Bandai Namco Studios. In January 2019, Nintendo announced that development had restarted under Retro Studios, the developer of the previous Metroid Prime games. Kensuke Tanabe, who worked on all of the previous Prime games, returned as a producer. The game is scheduled for release in 2025.
In 2015, the producer Kensuke Tanabe said the next Metroid Prime game could involve the bounty hunter Sylux, who was introduced in Metroid Prime Hunters (2006). Sylux appeared at the end of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007) in pursuit of the player character, Samus Aran. [3]
Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 during the Nintendo Direct presentation at E3 2017. Bill Trinen, the director of product marketing at Nintendo of America, confirmed that it would involve Tanabe but not Retro Studios, which had developed the previous Prime games. [1] [4] While not confirmed by Nintendo, Eurogamer reported that Prime 4 was being developed by Bandai Namco Studios in Japan and Singapore. [5] The Bandai Singapore staff included former LucasArts staff who had worked on the canceled Star Wars 1313 . [5]
The Nintendo of America president, Reggie Fils-Aimé, said in 2018 that Metroid Prime 4 was "well into development" and "proceeding well". [6] [7] Nintendo did not show it at E3 2018; Trinen said they would share more when they "had something that would wow people". [8]
In January 2019, the Nintendo EPD general manager, Shinya Takahashi, announced that development had restarted under Retro Studios with Tanabe. Takahashi said that the previous studio had not met Nintendo's standards and that the decision to restart the project was not taken lightly. [9] In October 2020, Retro posted a job advertisement seeking storyboard artists to work on "emotional" and "interesting and innovative scenes that elevate the narrative". [10] Video Games Chronicle took this as an indication of a more cinematic focus. [11]
After releasing no further information since the game's announcement in 2017, Nintendo released the first trailer and the title Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on June 18, 2024. [1] [12] The trailer showcased similar gameplay to the previous games in the series, with Samus exiting her gunship, exploring a forest world, using her morph ball ability, scanning a Space Pirate and encountering Sylux. [13] Nintendo also announced that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is scheduled for release in 2025. [12] It was nominated for Most Anticipated Game at the Game Awards 2024. [14]
Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic Metroid creatures.
Metroid Prime is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. Metroid Prime is the fifth main Metroid game and the first to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective. It was released in North America in November 2002, and in Japan and Europe the following year. Along with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion, Prime marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994).
Super Metroid is a 1994 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third installment in the Metroid series, following the events of the Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991). Players control bounty hunter Samus Aran, who travels to planet Zebes to retrieve an infant Metroid creature stolen by the Space Pirate leader Ridley.
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes is a 2004 adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The sequel to Metroid Prime (2002) and the first Metroid game with a multiplayer feature, Echoes was released in North America, Europe and Australia in 2004 and in Japan under the name Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes in May 2005.
Metroid: Zero Mission is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance on February 9, 2004. It is a remake of the original Metroid (1986), and retells the story with updated visuals and gameplay.
Ridley, also known in-universe by the alias Cunning God of Death, is a major antagonist in the Metroid series. An evil and aggressive draconic extraterrestrial, he became Samus Aran's archnemesis after murdering the latter's parents as he led a Space Pirate raid on her homeworld. Though having been destroyed numerous times by Samus, he is repeatedly resurrected through various means.
Metroid Prime Hunters is a 2006 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo Software Technology and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in North America in March 2006, with other territories later. The story takes place in between the events of Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Players assume the role of series protagonist Samus Aran, who investigates a mysterious message that originated from the Alimbic Cluster and comes into contact with a legion of bounty hunters.
Retro Studios, Inc. is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo based in Austin, Texas. The studio is best known for its work on the Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong series and has contributed to several other Nintendo-developed projects, such as Mario Kart 7.
Metroid Prime Pinball is a pinball video game themed after the Metroid series. The game uses the graphical style and various story elements from Metroid Prime. It was developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in North America and Australia in 2005, in Japan in 2006, and in Europe in 2007. Metroid Prime Pinball uses the basic mechanics of pinball, along with typical pinball items. New mechanics are introduced, such as wall jumping and the ability to fire weapons. The Nintendo DS's touchscreen can be nudged with a finger to alter the pinball's trajectory while in motion.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is a 2007 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The seventh main game in the Metroid series, it was released in North America and Europe in 2007 and in Japan in 2008.
Metroid Dread is a 2021 action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was released on October 8, 2021. Set after Metroid Fusion (2002), players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran as she investigates the source of a mysterious transmission on the planet ZDR. It retains the side-scrolling gameplay of previous 2D Metroid games and incorporates stealth elements.
Kenji Yamamoto is a Japanese video game musician working for Nintendo, notable for composing music in many titles of the Metroid series, mainly Super Metroid and the Metroid Prime trilogy. Yamamoto also plays a role as a music director at Nintendo, overseeing audio for several of their games. He frequently collaborates with fellow composers Minako Hamano and Masaru Tajima.
Metroid Prime: Trilogy is a 2009 compilation of action-adventure games from the Metroid franchise developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It features three games from the Metroid franchise: Metroid Prime (2002), Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004) and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007).
Samus Aran is the protagonist of the video game series Metroid by Nintendo. She was created by the Japanese video game designer Makoto Kano and introduced in the first Metroid (1986) for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Metroid: Other M is an action-adventure game developed by Tecmo Koei's Team Ninja and Nintendo and published by Nintendo for the Wii on August 31, 2010. It is part of the Metroid series, and takes place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion. The player controls intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran, who investigates a derelict space station with a Galactic Federation platoon, including her former commanding officer, Adam Malkovich.
Donkey Kong Country Returns is a 2010 platform game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. The game was released first in North America in November 2010, and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. The game's story focuses on an evil group of Tiki-like creatures known as the Tiki Tak Tribe that are unleashed on Donkey Kong Island and hypnotize the island's animals into stealing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's banana hoard, prompting the two to traverse the island to reclaim it.
Bandai Namco Studios Inc. is a Japanese video game developer headquartered in Kōtō, Tokyo and founded in 2012, with studios in Singapore and Malaysia. Bandai Namco Studios is a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Entertainment, which itself is part of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. The company works under its parent company as a keiretsu; Bandai Namco Studios creates video games for home, arcade, and mobile platforms, while Bandai Namco Entertainment handles the distribution, marketing, and publishing of these products.
Metroid Prime: Federation Force is a 2016 cooperative first-person shooter video game developed by Next Level Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. Taking place after the events of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007), players assume the role of Galactic Federation Marines attempting to thwart the continuing advances of the Space Pirates after Samus Aran eradicated the deadly Phazon mutagen. The gameplay places a greater emphasis on the shooting mechanics and multiplayer, similar to its handheld predecessor Metroid Prime Hunters, albeit with cooperation instead of competition. It also includes a competitive soccer-based game mode known as Metroid Prime: Blast Ball.
Metroid: Samus Returns is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. It is a remake of the 1991 Game Boy game Metroid II: Return of Samus. Players control series protagonist Samus Aran, a bounty hunter who is contracted by the Galactic Federation to exterminate the parasitic Metroid species on their home planet of SR388. While the story and structure parallel the original game, Samus Returns features redone graphics, updated controls and user interface, and new gameplay mechanics not seen in previous 2D Metroid titles, such as a melee counterattack and the ability to aim freely at any angle.