While this week’s Nintendo Direct was full of surprises, perhaps the biggest was that we finally got a release date for Metroid Prime 4 and, more importantly, our first proper look at gameplay seven years after it was initially announced. It was enough to send some fans into meltdown and it’s with equal parts relief and excitement to know the long-awaited sequel is finally coming in 2025.
But once the dust settled, some parts of the internet started asking the question: Was Metroid Prime 4 running on Switch 2? The release date certainly ties in with everything we know about the Switch successor, plus there are moments in the trailer when it looks like a step up from what we’ve seen on the original Switch hardware. Of course, Nintendo would never come out and say what the demo was running on so IGN sought the advice of the next best thing – the tech experts at Digital Foundry.
For years, Digital Foundry has been analysing video game performance to an unparalleled level and recently did a deep dive into what we can expect from Nintendo’s next-generation of hardware, so it’s better placed than anyone to provide trustworthy insight into Metroid Prime 4’s gameplay reveal.
So, was Metroid Prime 4 running on Switch 2?
Digital Foundry’s technology editor Richard Leadbetter gave us the definitive answer: “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 although many were convinced we’d had our first look at a Switch 2 game in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, the truth is it’s likely running on existing hardware. While that’s disappointing for some, it’s also hardly surprising; I expect Nintendo to pull out all the stops when the Switch successor is finally revealed rather than stealth-drop our first look at the end of an (admittedly surprising) Nintendo Direct.
That said, developer Retro Studios should be congratulated because making a game look this good on technology that’s over seven years old is no mean feat, and Leadbetter explains how Retro might have managed to achieve it: “There’s a few things at play here but ultimately it’s the skill of the developer working on a fixed platform they’ve had time to get to know over a great period of time. That singular focus makes great things possible. Another good example would be Halo 4 on Xbox 360 – at the end of a console’s lifecycle you get to see the hardware pushed in ways you would have never envisaged earlier on.”
Another reason the gameplay demo could look as good as it does is because it might be representative of what the final game will look like rather than exactly how it’ll turn out. It’s certainly not uncommon for this to be the case with early looks at games and it’s also not the first time Nintendo has done something similar, as Leadbetter reveals: “Nintendo has released some trailer assets that looked better than the final release games. There’s the now legendary ‘Too Big For Switch‘ trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and a trailer for Bayonetta 3 that ran consistently at 60fps where the final game certainly does not. However, in this case, with this developer and a game in gestation for this long, the instinct is to say that this is Switch 1 and representative of the actual console experience. If it were on Switch 2, we’d expect anti-aliasing via DLSS – there is none at all in this trailer – and a higher output resolution, for starters.”
While all evidence points to Metroid Prime 4’s gameplay reveal being on original Switch hardware then, there’s no doubt given its 2025 release that it will eventually make it onto the Switch 2. Indeed, cross-gen games have long been part of every new console cycle for years and it would make sense that Retro is developing an upgraded version of Metroid Prime 4 for when Switch 2 finally comes out. Which begs the question – what improvements can we expect to see over Metroid Prime 4 running on the original Switch? We can only theorise right now, but Leadbetter has his thoughts: “It’s a tricky one because it’s as much about Nintendo’s cross-gen strategy as it is about the capabilities of the hardware. One thing that always stands out from running Switch games on PC emulators is how scalable the artwork is. The quality of the art itself benefits immensely from higher resolutions, while gameplay benefits from higher frame-rates. At the very least, I’d expect any remaining kinks in performance to be ironed out, while running at a higher resolution, potentially augmented by DLSS. If there are noticeable loading times, you’d expect those to be reduced as Switch 2 has faster storage plus a hardware decompression block to ease the load on the CPU.”
Of course, faster loading times and improved visuals are commonplace for cross-gen games running on more powerful hardware, but personally it’s something I’m still excited for – not just for Metroid Prime 4 but also Nintendo’s other back catalogue. I would buy a Switch 2 in a heartbeat if it brought out improved versions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and I’m sure I’m not alone.
But we don’t know what Nintendo’s approach will be with Switch 2 right now. Many are hoping for backwards-compatibility, myself included, but what about cross-gen games running on Switch 2? “The question is whether Nintendo goes for ‘easy wins’ like higher resolutions, higher precision effects and so on, as we’ve seen on Sony and Microsoft consoles before”, says Leadbetter. “Or will it dip into the Switch 2’s feature set more extensively and push for more game-changing effects. It does support ray tracing, after all.”
If Nintendo’s past has taught us anything, it’s that it doesn’t like to follow in the footsteps of others so I’m hoping Nintendo goes all out with Switch 2.
Alex Simmons is IGN’s Features Director.
