It's been another strange, difficult, and yet somehow also brilliant year for video games in 2025. Triple-A releases have been sparse again, compared to the boom times of old, with a great big GTA 6-shaped hole left in the final few months of the year. And yet once again, every gap left by the established order has been filled twice over with something brilliantly new.
When I looked back on 2025 to assemble my advent calendar votes, I was surprised how many of them were smaller titles, especially in a year that saw both a new Silent Hill and Doom hitting the shelves. But then I remembered this year the Steam algorithm's whispered in my ear like the Green Goblin Mask to Norman Osborn, guiding me to lovely indie gems (and telling me to squash that Spider-Man).
Nintendo’s latest title coming to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 – Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – was seemingly made with quite a few studios working together. As spotted by Nintendo Life, the credits for the game credits Retro Studios, as well as a host of other development studios, including Virtuos, Territory Studio, Waterproof, AMC Studio, Red Hot CG, and others. You can check out the complete list of studios that were credited as having worked on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond below.
It is worth noting that, while many of the studios listed in the credits were likely teams specialising in supporting the development of major titles, others seem to be more specialised. Red Hot CG, for instance, is a development team that focuses primarily on the art assets that games need. The studio has credits across quite a few major releases, including Destiny 2, Horizon Forbidden West, Valorant, and even Starfield, among many others.
Keywords Studios, on the other hand, is a larger support studio that has several other listed studios under its overall banner, including GameSim and Smoking Gun Interactive.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has been in development for quite some time. The title was originally unveiled all the way back in 2017. At the time, the title was noted as not being made with traditional Metroid Prime franchise developer Retro Studios. Rather, at the time, it was being made by Bandai Namco Studios based out of Japan and Singapore. Since then, however, quite a few things changed for the title, and its development had been confirmed as having been restarted under Retro Studios back in 2019.
The title once more puts players in the armour of Samus Aran who is stuck on the planet Viewros and must fight for survival against a variety of foes, including rival bounty hunter Sylux. Keeping to series tradition, the first-person gameplay of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond offers a heavy mix of exploration, platforming, puzzle solving, and action. To aid players, Samus is once more equipped with the ability to scan objects in the environment which can then help her unravel the overall story of the title.
The newest entry in the Metroid Prime franchise is also bringing with it some new features, like psychic powers that can be used throughout the game. Along with this, Samus will also have access to the Vi-0-La bike to travel around the game’s various environments.
Releasing on both Switch and Switch 2, the version of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the more recent console will feature quite a few unique features, like the ability to use the Joy-Con 2 controller as a mouse, more closely mimicking the gameplay of traditional PC-based shooters.
For more details about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, here are 15 things you need to know. Also check out what has changed since Metroid Prime 3.
Studios credited with work on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond:
The Humble Bundle Black Friday sale has rolled into town once again, bringing with it a stellar selection of PC game deals. This isn't just a bunch of titles from ten years ago on sale either (like you see a lot in sales events), but recent hits like Oblivion Remastered and Civilization 7. It's a good opportunity to fill some gaps in your Steam library.
Read the full story on PCGamesN: From Oblivion Remastered to Civ 7, here are the best deals in the Humble Bundle Black Friday sale
