Metroid Prime is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. Metroid Prime is the fifth main installment in the Metroid franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D computer graphics and a first-person perspective. Since exploration takes precedence over combat, Nintendo classifies the game as a "first-person adventure" rather than a first-person shooter. It was released in North America in November 2002, and in Japan and Europe the following year. One day before its North American release, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance game Metroid Fusion, marking the return of the Metroid series after an eight-year hiatus following Super Metroid (1994).

Metroid Prime is the first game in the Metroid Prime saga, which takes place between the original Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus. Like previous games in the series, Metroid Prime has a science fiction setting in which players control the bounty hunter and series protagonist, Samus Aran. The story follows Samus as she battles the Space Pirates and their biological experiments on the planet Tallon IV. The game was a collaboration between Retro's staff in Austin, Texas, and Japanese Nintendo employees, including producers Shigeru Miyamoto and Kensuke Tanabe, the former of whom suggested the project after visiting Retro's headquarters in 2000.

The game garnered universal praise and commercial success, selling over 2.8 million units worldwide. It won a number of Game of the Year awards, and is regarded by many critics and gamers to be one of the greatest video games ever made, remaining one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic. In 2009, an enhanced version was released for the Wii as a stand-alone game in Japan, and as part of the Metroid Prime: Trilogy compilation internationally.