Digital Foundry weighs in on the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Switch vs. Switch 2 tech debate

All sorts of comments were made about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond when it was showcased in yesterday’s Nintendo Direct. People were obviously shocked to see the game at all, let alone learn that it was very much still alive and would be seeing release in 2025. Along with that, people thought the game was looking really damn good…perhaps too good for Switch.

There really shouldn’t be much of a debate about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, as Nintendo themselves have said the title is indeed a Switch game. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t add a Switch successor version at some point, but as far as trailer descriptions and press releases go, Nintendo has been 100% clear that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is Switch-bound. Still, people were so impressed with the visuals that they thought Nintendo might be pulling a fast one.

To get to the bottom of things, IGN spoke with the tech-minded blokes at Digital Foundry to get their analysis. While the final word always comes from Nintendo, Digital Foundry also believes Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a Switch game through-and-through. According to them, “all the evidence points to this game running on the original Switch.” Their team came to this conclusion based on analysis of the trailer itself and various tech spotted.

Will Metroid Prime 4: Beyond make it over to the Switch successor? Only time will tell, but for now you can rest easy as a Switch owner, as you’ll be able to play Samus’ next adventure without the need to shell out next-gen money.