Nintendo has an odd habit of being cagey about which development teams are behind the games it publishes. While you might think the company would be eager to promote that the studio behind the acclaimed Metroid Dread is working on its direct sequel, Metroid Ravenous, thisnews came through an unofficial channel.
Dread developer MercurySteam reposted the announcement trailer for Metroid Ravenous on LinkedIn with a smiling emoji, all but confirming that the studio is working on the game.
The developer also posted a cryptic, emoji-based message on the studio’s official X account, reposting the Metroid Ravenous trailer with a ninja and heart emoji:
Metroid Ravenous was officially announced during Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct, about a month after Brazil’s game rating board accidentally leaked its existence early. The trailer shows intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran once again trapped on a hostile alien planet, but this time the roles are reversed: Monsters are on the menu. Having previously become a human-Metroid hybrid (it’s a long story), our deadly heroine leverages her energy-absorbing abilities to consume her prey, hence the game’s very metal title. If Dread was largely about disempowerment, with Samus being hunted by unkillable robots, its sequel is seemingly taking an opposite tack.
Metroid Ravenous is coming to Nintendo Switch 2 on Jan. 28, 2027.
What other games is MercurySteam known for?
MercurySteam has been around since 2002 and is based in Madrid. Before Metroid Dread, the studio worked on Metroid: Samus Returns, a remake of the series’ often-overlooked second game. The team also worked on Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and its sequel. The studio’s most recent game was Blades of Fire, an action-adventure game that received so-so reviews and failed to meet its publisher’s sales expectations.
Since the release of Metroid Dread, MercurySteam has been embroiled in controversy. Shortly after Dread’s release, it emerged that MercurySteam had left many developers out of the game’s credits. Then in September 2025, the Spanish labor union CSVI-CGT accused the company of abusive work practices. MercurySteam leadership reportedly instituted mandatory overtime with 10-hour days, restricted internal communications, eliminated remote work, and introduced vacation day limits. 3DJuegos interviewed several employees at the studio who described a toxic work environment during the development of Blades of Fire, including management using intimidation tactics and retaliating against those who took sick or parental leave.