It’s Been 5 Years Since Nintendo Announced It Was Restarting Switch Exclusive Metroid Prime 4

Five years ago today Nintendo announced it had restarted development of Metroid Prime 4.

On January 25, 2019, Nintendo said it had restarted work on the hotly anticipated Switch exclusive from the beginning, with the help of the developer of the original Metroid Prime games, Retro Studios. At the time, Nintendo said the decision was made because this fourth entry had "not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series."

Metroid Prime 4 was announced at E3 2017, reportedly with Bandai Namco handling development. But two years later Nintendo handed development duties to producer Kensuke Tanabe, who set to work with Retro Studios to get the game out the door.

We’ve heard nothing official about Metroid Prime 4 in the five years since the reboot was announced. However, Nintendo still lists Metroid Prime 4 for Switch, with a release window of TBA.

With the Nintendo Switch 2 now waiting in the wings, all eyes are on Nintendo to see if the game will launch on the original Switch as planned, has been repurposed for the next-generation console, or will launch on both. Switch 2 is reportedly set to launch later in 2024, with an announcement expected in the first half of the year.

Whatever the case, it’s been a long five years for Metroid Prime fans (seven years if you count from when Metroid Prime 4 was first announced), although last year’s Metroid Prime Remastered is a wonderful stop-gap.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.