UK-based fans of the Metroid Prime series have found a confusing new advertisement for the upcoming Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. As caught by VGC, Reddit user Orchestar spotted the ad in the Oxford Circus tube station of the London Underground, and noted that the ad says that the game is “out now”.
Notably, the ad features Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and the words “Out Now” prominently in its graphics, and is right next to another advertisement for the Nintendo Switch 2 and its GameChat feature. The confusion comes primarily from the fact that Nintendo is yet to even announce a release date for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
A statement by Nintendo, according to VGC, notes that the advertisement is “incorrect”. The company does note that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, both on the original Switch as well as the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, is still slated for release later this year.
“We can confirm that the ‘Out Now’ message on this advert is incorrect,” said the company in its statement. “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition are not yet available, and are scheduled for release in 2025.”
Originally announced all the way back in 2017, Nintendo has only recently started its marketing push for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. The title reportedly went through quite a troubled development cycle since its original announcement. Since then, however, its development has seen quite a bit of progress, with the studio recruiting talent from across the industry, from veteran Halo artists to the art director for Mirror’s Edge, and even the designer for God of War.
Since its announcement, the first real signs of life we got to see for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond came from a trailer that was released last year. Confirming that the title is slated for release in 2025, Nintendo also gave us some hints of what its story will entail.
In Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, players will once again take on the role of franchise protagonist Samus Aran, who has infiltrated a Galactic Confederation Research Facility right as it was also getting attacked by Space Pirates. The title will feature similar critically-acclaimed gameplay from the rest of the Metroid Prime series, along with a host of new features.
Nintendo had released another trailer for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond back in April, this time around giving us an even deeper look at the title. With the story revolving around Samus trying to get her hands on a sensitive artifact before Space Pirates ally Sylux can, the game will once again focus quite a bit on exploration rather than having back-to-back action sequences.
The trailer from April also gave us a look at how Metroid Prime 4: Beyond will look and perform on the Nintendo Switch 2. Nintendo has confirmed that the title will feature a Quality Mode that can run at 4K/60 FPS, while also making use of some of the more unique features of the new console. One of these features is the ability to use a Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse to help in 3D first-person navigation and combat. The title will also have a Performance mode that runs at 1080p/120 FPS.