Concerns Rise Over Metroid Prime 4: Beyond After Nintendo’s Latest Financial Report

Nintendo’s recent financial results left many fans of the Metroid franchise feeling uneasy, as they did not mention the highly anticipated Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. This absence raises alarm bells regarding the game’s performance and what it might mean for the series’ future. According to the financial report, the Switch 2 has surpassed the Wii U’s lifetime sales in under seven months, and the original Switch has been crowned the best-selling Nintendo console of all time. Among the titles raking in success are Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Kirby Air Riders, both showing impressive initial sales figures of 3.89 million and 1.76 million copies sold, respectively.

However, the notable absence of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and another holiday title, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, has fans puzzled. Nintendo typically includes titles once they cross the million-copy threshold, but Koei Tecmo recently confirmed that Hyrule Warriors has indeed sold over a million copies (via Nintendo Life). This leads to speculation that the versions published by Nintendo themselves are lagging behind.

For the Metroid series, the news is especially disheartening. Despite less than four weeks to chart before the financial report’s December 31, 2025 cutoff, there was no mention of the game, suggesting it may not have started strongly across either console. While it’s feasible that the combined sales exceeded a million units—Nintendo has a history of counting separate versions like Pokemon—the fear is that neither version achieved those numbers independently.

The Metroid subreddit is buzzing with apprehension; one user lamented, “This might be it for Prime. Sad to see, man.” After a long 18-year wait since Metroid Prime 3, the pressure is on. With critics delivering mixed reviews about the new installment, another user pointed out, “Sales numbers reflect the general sentiment people have of that game.” Historically, Metroid hasn’t been a massive seller. For perspective, Metroid Dread stood as the best-selling title, barely crossing over three million as of 2022—less than 1-2-Switch for context.

Though the protracted hype and presumably hefty development costs make the situation challenging, it may not signal the end for Metroid unless sales figures are abysmally low. Interestingly, the success of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild partly influenced the open-world design decisions in Metroid Prime 4, which means there’s still a flicker of hope for the franchise.