Beyond’s chances of appearing at rumored Direct just went up
The Nintendo Switch roster supports thousands of games, but what it needs is a fantastic FPS. Yes, we know there is Doom, but Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is leading the charge on this front, hopefully giving the Nintendo Switch 2 a worthwhile shooter that harnesses the handheld’s beefed-up hardware. It’s possible that a Nintendo Direct showcase is coming soon, and the biggest clue about Metroid’s appearance in it is here: its age rating.
Switch games receive age ratings all the time; it isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Yet, when the next Nintendo Direct is seemingly around the corner, it is something to raise an eyebrow at. According to the South Korea Game Rating and Administration Committee, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond filed for certification earlier this month on July 10, 2025, and you can now view the information publicly.
In the past, notable examples such as Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption remaster leaked in similar ways, indicating an announcement on the horizon. The new Switch game is suitable for players aged 12 and upward, so don’t expect any grandiose violence on the scale of Doom: The Dark Ages. Instead, players are met with “mild violence” across the FPS game’s narrative of blasting aliens into a pulp.
Maybe it’s Nintendo getting things in motion for something down the line, but prominent leaker ‘NateTheHate’ alleges that a Direct showcase is targeting the last week of July. Their sources claim that the “Direct will not take place until after Donkey Kong Bananza releases”, but can’t specify what titles are featuring in the Direct.
Despite this, he goes on to speculate that with Nintendo’s latest earnings report releasing on Friday, August 1, 2025, it’d make sense for the Direct to lead into this. With that in mind, we reckon that Wednesday, July 30, 2025, could be when the Direct appears. Of course, this is just speculation, but past showcases tend to favor a Wednesday slot.
The wait for the Metroid Prime 4 release date continues to be brutal. Following Nintendo’s mishap of printing posters that said the game is available now, hopes of a shadow launch are swiftly out the window. What’s even worse is that new Metroid remasters are scrapped, too. I’m just itching to get back in the fray as Samus, so stop playing around, Nintendo. What you can do, though, is check out our Donkey Kong Bananza review. If you’re looking for the first test of the Nintendo Switch 2, this is it.
