‘Metroid Prime 4’ is coming to Nintendo Switch, purportedly in 2018

Yeah, I didn’t get around to covering this during E3! But, whatever! Metroid Prime 4 is totally a game coming to Nintendo Switch, and if you believe the scuttlebutt, dropping next year.

Kotaku:

THIS IS NOT A DRILL: Metroid Prime 4 is happening. We know nothing about the game—Nintendo showed nothing but a logo during the company’s E3 presentation today—but it’s coming to Switch, even if we might not see it for a very long time.

This is the fourth game in the beloved, critically acclaimed series, which started with Metroid Prime in 2002. That game and its sequels, Metroid Prime 2 (2004) and Metroid Prime 3 (2007), were all developed by Retro Studios and are widely considered to be some of the best games ever made.

The game’s fact sheet says that it development is being led by Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe with a “talented new development team.” That sounds like it’s not Retro Studios.]

What’s noteworthy about this news isn’t just that we’re finally getting the game that Nintendo fans have craved most. It’s that Nintendo is listening. With Switch, the company has not only made a killer piece of hardware, it has proven that it’s willing to finally—finally!—give fans the one game they’ve been asking for. Even if it takes until 2020.

Nintendo Wire:

Metroid fans hoping to get their hands on Samus’ latest 3D adventure might not have to wait as long as previously believed. While the teaser trailer debuted during Nintendo’s E3 Spotlight presentation did little to offer a release window for the hotly anticipated title, a recent GamesBeat interview uncovered some interesting tidbits regarding Samus’ historic return to the console.

When asked about the future of games releasing for the Switch, Nintendo of America Corporate Communications Director Charlie Scibetta indicated that Metroid Prime 4, among other notable titles including Pokémon, could be out as early as next year. It’s important to note that this statement was part of a larger message to close the gap between big game launches in general and avoid dry spells between releases.

For the full statement on the matter, Scibetta’s statement is as follows:

“If you want to be able to play games and not have a dry spell between any of the big launches, we think Nintendo Switch is a good place to be. We have a nice drumbeat of first and third party. You’ll never have to wait long.

Just as you get through a game and you’re starting to put your head up, put the periscope out to see what else is out there, hopefully we’ll have something right there for you. We’ve announced a nice lineup through this year, and next year we have some big games coming with Metroid 4. 2018 will be around Metroid, Kirby, Yoshi, new Pokémon game has been announced. We feel good about the lineup for this year and beyond.”

While not by any means official confirmation, it’s hard not to get excited at the prospect of playing a new Metroid adventure alongside Kirby and Yoshi as early as next year. Considering we have yet to see a lick of gameplay footage (remember Star Fox Zero’s one year development promise at E3 a few years ago?), take it with a grain of salt for now.