Nintendo will shift its focus to Kirby Air Riders later today, giving the unlikely sequel 45 minutes of its undivided attention. No one was expecting that, especially Metroid fans. Most assumed we'd be getting news about Metroid Prime 4: Beyond before we heard more about Kirby's new racing game, and now that we're not, Metroid fans are struggling to hold it together.
Nintendo made the surprise announcement on Monday via its Nintendo Today app that at 9 am EST on Tuesday, so later today, it will hold a Direct dedicated to Kirby Air Riders. That alone was pretty shocking, but confirmation that it will be 45 minutes long has floored a lot of people, myself included.
It's not the length of the Air Riders Direct that has upset Metroid fans. They're not even upset that Kirby is getting his own Direct. It's that this bumper presentation featuring nothing but Nintendo's pink puffball is happening amid continued radio silence on Metroid Prime 4. Eight years after the next Prime game was announced, and with nothing but a vague 2025 release window, just like Air Riders, we still don't know when Samus will make her debut on Switch 2.
"If Metroid Prime...
