Metroid Prime 4 Beyond announcement trailer arrives 7 years after first look

Metroid Prime 4 has felt like a pipe dream to most fans with each passing year. After the release of Metroid Prime 3 in 2007, it wasn't until a full decade later that there was word of the sequel. Metroid Prime 4 was first announced with a first look in June 2017 at E3, back when that event meant something. Seven more years later, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is confirmed and the first trailer featuring actual gameplay has arrived.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, it's actually real this time

Back in 2002, just one year after the Nintendo GameCube was released, Metroid Prime burst onto the scene with a whole world of innovation. It was the first time the Metroid series had tried a first-person perspective and elaborate 3D graphics, and to this day it's one of the highest-rated and most beloved video games of all time.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes followed in 2004, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption landed on Wii in 2007. The Nintendo E3 announcement of Metroid Prime 4 in 2017 kicked off a wave of excitement, but that reveal only showed a basic logo and no actual gameplay footage. It was so long ago that initially some believed the game would release on both Wii U and Nintendo Switch, as the latter had only released a few months earlier.

Today, the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trailer gives players their first glimpse at the game. Perhaps more importantly, it exists. While the trailer was only the slightest look at gameplay and puzzles that feel like a Metroid Prime game, it essentially gives fans something to talk about until the real showcase arrives.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is targeted for 2025, and significantly more gameplay and details are expected between now and that eventual release date. One big question mark around that timing is the Switch 2, as Nintendo said they wouldn't be talking about the "Switch successor" in this Direct.

It's possible that the extended development cycle, which seemingly didn't hit full force until Retro Studios took charge in early 2019, may have turned this into a game they'd rather see used as a Switch 2 anchor point. The waiting game begins again, but at least there's a tiny sliver of gameplay for everyone to overanalyze until the real deep dive for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is here.