Over the last few years, as more and more time passed with barely a whisper from Nintendo or Retro Studios regarding Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, many fans had begun to ask the same question: will it skip the Switch and launch on ‘Switch 2’?
After all, the game’s eventual revival during the latest Nintendo Direct came after the firm had finally acknowledged the Switch’s successor, confirming that it would be revealed within the next financial year. So many had come to the conclusion that if Prime 4 doesn’t feature in the showcase, then chances are it isn’t heading for the Switch.
Alas, there is was, and it looks beautiful. But did it look too good for the Switch? That’s what some folks seem to think, but IGN has gained concrete confirmation from Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is, indeed, a Switch game:
“It’s looking great and there are a couple of nice effects in there we took a closer look at, but ultimately, all the evidence points to this game running on the original Switch. The internal rendering resolution counts out at 900p, which is the same as Metroid Prime Remastered.
“And as good as it is, there are some aliasing issues and even some very minor frame-rate drops. Everything about the visual make-up is consistent with a really well-made Switch game, where Retro has an excellent track record. I can imagine the development studio is really happy that people are making a connection with Switch 2, mind you.”
So there you have it. While there was no doubt in our minds that the game is running on the Switch (or at least comparable PC hardware), we thought we’d put everybody’s mind at rest once and for all.
Now, we’re not going to completely rule out the possibility that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond winds up being a cross-gen release, similar to Zelda: Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild; the timing would likely line up quite closely, after all. But we think it’s obvious that, for now, this is a Switch game through and through.