Metroid Prime 4 will run at 720p on the current Switch, will it be 4K on Switch 2?

Yesterday, Nintendo unveiled the highly anticipated Metroid Prime 4. Fans have been waiting seven years to see some gameplay, and the two-minute trailer didn't disappoint - it looks like a modern take on classic Prime gameplay. Technically impressive, too, the game runs at a rock-solid 60 FPS with even more impressive visuals than last year's brilliant Metroid Prime Remastered.

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However, what we saw was running on the current Nintendo Switch hardware rather than the Switch 2 successor set to launch sometime in 2025 (alongside Metroid Prime 4: Beyond). Nintendo is clearly holding its Switch 2 cards close to its chest, so we won't get details on games and hardware specs until we're much closer to release.

In my write-up of Metroid Prime 4, I noted that the low-resolution look of the footage made it clear that the gameplay trailer featured current-gen Switch gameplay. According to a new Metroid Prime 4 technical breakdown from Nintendo World Report, the game runs at 720p docked. Yikes.

Yeah, this means the game will look noticeably fuzzy and jaggy on a big-screen 4KTV. Hitting 60 FPS with this level of environmental detail is impressive, even at 720p - but it's a trade-off. And it'll run at a lower resolution in handheld mode. The Nintendo Switch hardware is relatively ancient compared to modern consoles and even modern Windows gaming handhelds, so what we're probably seeing here is footage from a game being ported from Nintendo Switch 2 to the current-gen Switch.

With Switch being one of the most popular consoles of all time, it makes sense for Nintendo to release cross-gen versions of its games in the foreseeable future. The odds are that Metroid Prime 4 will run at 1080p or even 4K on Switch 2, with higher-quality assets and tech like DLSS.