Oh my God! Nintendo’s announcement might just be the apex moment we’ve been waiting for all our lives?? Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a reality and will feel the gorgeous light of launch on December 4th, 2025. Well, maybe you read the part about next year just now. After what felt like so many delayed years, so many restarts, and so many dead silences, a date was finally announced, and the gaming world is having a field day.
The announcement was aired in the newest Nintendo Direct, and all hell broke loose on social media before too long. Just minutes before, my Timeline was still filled with Samus gifs and happy chatter about finally playing the game. The trailer itself showcased some crazy new environments with Samus exploring a huge desert land, maybe riding a new vehicle, perhaps even a bike, and actually proceeding with all classic Metroid Prime first-person shooting action we’ve been craving for.
But wait, what was I saying? Oh, reactions. This has been an all-hit piece split across the gaming populations. Most are, in a manner of speaking, positively hyped out of their minds whereas… VainTheWyvern tweeted “Holy shit I can’t wait it’s been year’s 🔥🔥🔥” which inebriatingly sums up most Metroid faithful’s feelings. After waiting ever since the original announcement back in 2017, finally having a concrete date kind of feels like Christmas came early. Except it’s coming in December 2025 so… Christmas came late? I’m confused.
The other side of the coin though. Some players are looking at that desert footage and going “This ain’t Metroid.” CUDdev straight up stated “Samus riding around an empty desert.. This ain’t Metroid.” which ouch. That’s harsh. And FieldOfR0se added “I’ve waited nearly 9 years for this game only to have my hype destroyed with that latest trailer. Giving samus a bike and an open world is blasphemy.” So yeah, not everyone is thrilled about the new direction.
Then, that whole Game Awards scenario everybody is still talking about. Since it should be coming in December 2025, it misses the cutoff for next year’s Game Awards before November, normally considered. MrGuruBill pointed out, “Shit, that’s out of the running…” which is true, not until the 2026 awards will it be eligible. But then Gunslinger687 cleared up, “Won’t get any nominations this year it’s eligible for next year’s game awards.” So there is that.
The graphics debate is getting feisty. gamesporgamers tweeted “Other Nintendo Switch 1 graphics. 🤦🏻♂️” and implied that they are not impressed from what they have gotten so far. On the other hand, Mingolfssonjr defended, “I do think it will just be like that for that stupid desert, everything else in the trailer looked amazing and knowing Retro they are most likely not sleeping on the graphics.” So maybe, it’s just that the desert area isn’t showing well in the trailers.
Of course, Switch 2 exclusivity speculation isn’t far behind. Reap responded to someone asking about the PC question with “…Why? This is a Switch 2 exclusive.” Which makes sense, timing-wise. December 2025 is definitely in that next-gen Nintendo console window everybody has been conjecturing about so Metroid Prime 4 could be one of those killer launch titles for whatever Nintendo is cooking up next.
Then began worrying about the money. Jose Espinoza joked, “Gettin’ ready for that 100$ legacy launch pack 💀,” which Nintendo pricing is always… interesting. DavidMo78281257 followed with “It’s Nintendo man, nothing is free from them,” which is a painfully accurate observation.
What is wild is how many already have their December 2025 planned around this game. gamecentric_io stated, “December is going to be Metroid month,” and quantumfiber followed with, “December just became prime time. ☃️”- see what they did there with “prime time?” Clever.
And then there’s the “No thanks. I don’t play Nintendo, unfortunately…” from JessieLameque, which is too bad if yours. GreenXboxSeriesX went with the classic “Unlaunch this crap!” which is kind of harsh but I guess everyone has their opinion.
Welcome to real backlog woes. frostawuzhere lamented, “My backlog gets bigger every day😭,” that was a feeling. Between this and a bunch of other games launching, 2025 is an insane period for game releases. GameSailiin was right: “2025 is pure gold.”
And so, after all the waiting and all the development hell this game has been subjected to, we finally have a date. December 4, 2025. Get those calendars marked, start saving up, and prepare for what could be the biggest Metroid game so far. Whether you are excited about the new open areas or petrified of the direction, that’s definitely one game everyone would be talking about when it finally launches.
