Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is an upcoming video 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. Prime 4: Beyond is scheduled for release in 2025.

Development
Shortly after the announcement of Metroid Prime: Federation Force at E3 2015, producer Kensuke Tanabe stated his desire for the next numbered Metroid Prime entry to feature Sylux, a rival bounty hunter to Samus Aran who was previously introduced in Metroid Prime Hunters (2006) and later appeared in a post-credits scene at the end of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007), and well as a time-shifting gameplay mechanic in vein of the light and dark world of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004). Sylux would also appear the following year in the post-credits scene of Federation Force.

Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 at E3 2017 with a 40-second teaser trailer. Bill Trinen, the director of product marketing at Nintendo of America, confirmed that while Tanabe would return as producer, Retro Studios, developers of the prior numbered installments, would be replaced with an unspecified new development team. While not confirmed by Nintendo, Eurogamer would report the following year that Prime 4 was being developed by Bandai Namco Studios in Japan and Singapore. The Bandai Singapore staff included former LucasArts staff who had worked on the canceled Star Wars 1313.

Nintendo did not mention the game during its E3 2018 presentation; when questioned, Trinen said they would share more when they "had something that would wow people". Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé also assured gaming press that Metroid Prime 4 was "well into development" and "proceeding well".

In January 2019, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development general manager Shinya Takahashi announced that Metroid Prime 4 would be restarting development under Retro Studios, with Tanabe remaining as producer. Takahashi said that the previous studio had not met Nintendo's standards and that the decision to restart the project was not taken lightly.

In October 2020, Retro posted a job advertisement seeking storyboard artists to work on "emotional" and "interesting and innovative scenes that elevate the narrative". Video Games Chronicle took this as an indication of a more cinematic focus. Nintendo themselves would make no further comments on the game's progress until E3 2021, where the company briefly prefaced the announcement of Metroid Dread by stating they were "working hard on the latest game in the Metroid Prime series".

Release and promotion
After sharing no significant information on the game's development since January 2019, Nintendo released a gameplay trailer at the end of their June 2024 Nintendo Direct broadcast. The trailer showcased similar gameplay to previous games in the series, with Samus exploring a research facility under Space Pirate attack, using her morph ball ability, and encountering Sylux. The trailer revealed the game's final name to be Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and concluded with a 2025 release date.