Metroid Prime
Metroid Prime is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the fifth main Metroid game, and the first to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective. It was released in North America in November 2002 and in Japan and Europe the following year. Along with the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion, Prime marked the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994).
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 2002
- Developer
- Retro Studios
- Platforms
- 2 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 18 November 2002 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Retro Studios |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platforms | Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii |
| Genres | First-Person Shooter |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q1765733, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Metroid Prime? How long to beat it
Total play time for Metroid Prime is about 17.8 hours to do everything, and around 13.8 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 13.8h | 841 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 15.9h | 1,221 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 17.8h | 339 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Metroid Prime sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Metroid Prime lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 63ahead of 16% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 51ahead of 89% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Metroid Prime
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Where Metroid Prime appears
The ranked lists and finder pages Metroid Prime qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.
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Common questions about Metroid Prime
What platforms is Metroid Prime on?
Metroid Prime is available on Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii. It first released in 2002.
Who made Metroid Prime?
Metroid Prime was developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo.
How long does it take to beat Metroid Prime?
about 13.8 hours for the main story, 15.9 hours with the main extras, 17.8 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.