Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Receives ESRB Rating Ahead of Anticipated 2025 Release on Nintendo Switch

After years of anticipation and high-profile delays, Retro Studios' Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has reached a significant milestone.

The upcoming entry in the acclaimed Metroid Prime series received an official 'T for Teen' rating from the ESRB, as revealed by Nintendo's official US website.

This development marks a crucial step toward the game's highly anticipated 2025 launch on both the Nintendo Switch and the upcoming Switch 2 platform. The ESRB classification indicates that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond contains animated blood, violence, and in-game purchases, aligning with previous entries in the franchise.

The Teen rating signifies content that is generally suitable for players aged 13 and up, potentially including violence, minimal blood, mild suggestive themes, simulated gambling, and infrequent use of strong language.

While this rating has not yet appeared on the ESRB's official website, it reflects the standard content expectations for the Metroid Prime series according to notable community sources.

Fan site Shinesparkers noted that this Teen rating is consistent with all mainline Metroid Prime games prior to this fourth installment. This ESRB rating comes shortly after Metroid Prime 4: Beyond was previously classified by South Korea’s Game Rating and Administration Committee in July, suggesting the global readiness of the game for final release preparations.

Despite these classification milestones, Nintendo has not yet provided an exact release date for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.

The official launch window remains set for 2025, maintaining high expectations from fans who have been awaiting new details since the title’s re-announcement during a Nintendo Direct. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is set to launch simultaneously on the current Nintendo Switch and Nintendo's next-generation hardware, tentatively titled Switch 2.

The Switch 2 version is slated to feature enhanced resolution and frame rate, alongside support for the newly introduced Joy-Con 2, which will provide mouse-like precision controls.

These updates aim to push the franchise’s signature first-person sci-fi exploration to new heights, leveraging both the strengths of Retro Studios—the acclaimed Texas-based developer behind the franchise—and the technical capabilities of Nintendo’s latest hardware. The Metroid Prime series remains one of Nintendo’s most beloved and critically lauded IPs, known for its atmospheric world-building, innovative mechanics, and bold sci-fi storytelling.

Fans can look forward to further updates on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond as its release approaches, with further details likely to be revealed in upcoming Nintendo Direct presentations and official press releases. For now, the arrival of an ESRB rating signals that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is on course for its long-awaited debut in 2025, ensuring that the next generation of Nintendo Switch hardware will have a major first-party title to anchor its early lineup.

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