Metroid turned 40 in 2026, but Nintendo has remained silent on the milestone, a contrast to its celebrations for The Legend of Zelda. The franchise's influence outweighs its sales, with Metroid Dread being the best-selling entry at 3.07 million units, compared to Breath of the Wild's 34.06 million and Tears of the Kingdom's 22.71 million. Despite this, the Switch 2 will host two Metroid games within its first two years: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and the newly announced Metroid Ravenous.
Nintendo has maintained a steady release cadence since Metroid Dread in 2021, including the Metroid Prime remaster in 2023, Metroid Prime 4 in 2025, and Metroid Ravenous slated for 2027. This marks a welcome change from the seven-year gap between Metroid: Other M and the Metroid 2 remake, with the 2016 Federation Force spin-off often overlooked. Metroid Ravenous is being developed by MercurySteam, the studio behind Dread, indicating that Dread's success prompted an early greenlight, possibly as early as 2023.
Nintendo's Priorities and Metroid's Position
Metroid Ravenous was not the highlight of the latest Nintendo Direct; that honor went to Kirby and the World Beyond, with Nintendo teasing big plans for Kirby's 35th anniversary. This demonstrates Metroid's lower priority in Nintendo's hierarchy. Ravenous, while visually impressive, closely resembles Dread, with Samus gaining a new ability to feed on enemies but no major formula evolution. This approach is not inherently flawed, as games like Majora's Mask and Super Mario Galaxy 2 reused assets successfully. However, Zelda and Mario have reinvented themselves multiple times, whereas Metroid's only significant deviation has been the Prime sub-series, which now appears to have run its course.
Metroid Prime 4's Mixed Reception
Metroid Prime 4 is not a bad game, but it occupies an awkward middle ground: not Metroid enough for core fans, yet too Metroid for newcomers. A Nintendo representative stated it sold over a million units, but this figure was only disclosed after the company initially omitted sales data from its fiscal report. The sales combine Switch 1 and Switch 2 versions, suggesting neither performed exceptionally. Prime 4's attempts to alter the sub-series formula were poorly received, with elements like the ally characters indicating a misunderstanding of the series' appeal. Consequently, a quick greenlight for Metroid Prime 5 seems unlikely, leaving room for a new type of 3D Metroid game.
Potential Paths for Evolution
A third-person adventure could be the logical next step, drawing inspiration from Batman: Arkham Asylum, which proved the Metroidvania formula works in third person over 17 years ago. It need not be open world, given Prime 4's uninspired attempt. Nintendo has successfully transitioned other franchises to 3D, including Super Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Kirby. The alternative is for Metroid to remain a 2D series indefinitely, which would signal a lack of innovation. However, the positive response to Ravenous—its trailer accrued more views than Dread's on Nintendo's UK and US YouTube channels, and Dread topped the Switch 1 eShop sales charts in the US—suggests a surge of new fans. This could be due to Samus's enhanced presentation, including her new energy absorption ability and the fact that she speaks more. Samus has evolved significantly over 40 years, and the series must continue to evolve to reclaim its trendsetting status.
