Nintendo announced Metroid Ravenous during its latest Nintendo Direct, confirming the next 2D entry in the Metroid series will star Samus Aran in a new side-scrolling adventure launching exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 on January 28, 2027, as reported by Beebom.
Here’s the context: Beebom describes Metroid Ravenous as the sequel to Metroid Dread, and Nintendo debuted a new trailer for it during the broadcast. The story picks up with Samus crash-landing on an unfamiliar moon, where she’s gravely injured by the local inhabitants and left with one option: consume her enemies to survive long enough to make it home. That survival hook is a notable tonal shift for the series, and it lands alongside a broader wave of first-party Switch 2 software following the recently detailed Ocarina of Time remake.
Beebom also notes that an untitled Metroid game rating briefly surfaced online earlier this year before being pulled, and that listing has now been confirmed to be Ravenous. Beyond that acknowledgment, the specifics of that earlier rating listing weren’t detailed in the announcement itself, so there’s not much more to say about it yet.
Honestly, the energy-draining mechanic and the darker framing of Samus eating to survive are the most interesting parts of this reveal, and they suggest MercurySteam’s fingerprints – the studio’s Metroid Dread and Metroid: Samus Returns work leaned into similarly tense, predator-versus-prey pacing. But Beebom is careful to note that MercurySteam’s involvement seems likely rather than confirmed, and Nintendo hasn’t put a developer name on this yet. The one thing that is locked down is platform exclusivity: this is a Switch 2 game, full stop, which matters for anyone still deciding whether to make the jump – our breakdown of Switch 2 bundles and pricing is worth a look if that’s still an open question for you.
What Nintendo has actually locked in for launch day is fairly specific. Confirmed details include:
- Release date – January 28, 2027
- Platform – Nintendo Switch 2 exclusively
- Launch amiibo – A “Samus” figure and a “Chozo Statue” figure release the same day as the game
- Special Edition – Includes the base game, a third amiibo figure, and additional unspecified bonuses
- Pricing and pre-orders – Not yet announced
What remains unclear is how much this costs and when you’ll actually be able to reserve a copy – Nintendo hadn’t opened pre-orders or revealed edition pricing at the time of the announcement. The full contents of the Special Edition beyond the third amiibo are also still a mystery, and there’s no official word yet on who’s actually developing the game, MercurySteam or otherwise. Treat any developer attribution as an educated guess until Nintendo or the studio says so directly.
What to watch: expect Nintendo to fill in pricing and open pre-orders well before the January 28 launch, likely alongside follow-up trailers that dig deeper into the energy-siphoning ability and clarify what’s actually in that Special Edition box. If a developer credit does land officially, that’s the detail to confirm before anyone treats MercurySteam’s return as settled.
Does a Metroid game built around eating your enemies to survive change how you’re feeling about this one, and does the Switch 2 exclusivity affect whether you’ll pick it up? Keep an eye out for pricing, pre-order windows, and gameplay deep dives as January 28 gets closer.
