Samus Aran will return in Metroid Ravenous, a side-scrolling follow-up to Metroid Dread.
Announced during today’s Nintendo Direct broadcast, Metroid Ravenous will launch for Switch 2 on January 28, 2027, priced at $59.99 for a digital copy — the same as Nintendo’s upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake.
A debut trailer for the game revealed Samus being attacked by strange enemies who zapped her energy. “It’s eat or be eaten,” she says in response. Hope you’re hungry.
It’s eat…or be eaten. #MetroidRavenous. 28/01/2027.
Only on #NintendoSwitch2. pic.twitter.com/b7f9fQWRmo— Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) September 9, 2026
“I was attacked by unknown assailants and sustained grave injuries,” Samus says in the Metroid Ravenous reveal trailer. “I don’t know where I am, getting back to the surface won’t be easy. My chances of getting off this moon are slim at best. Still… I will survive. And I will make it home. Even if I have to feed on my enemies to do so. It’s eat or be eaten.”
If the game’s name sounds familiar, that’s because Metroid Ravenous popped up this summer via a swiftly-deleted ratings board listing in Brazil. At the time, fans speculated that its name referred to Dread’s main antagonist Raven Beak.
Ravenous appears to once again be the work of talented Spanish development studio MercurySteam, the team that previously collaborated with Nintendo for Metroid Dread, as well as Metroid: Samus Returns, the remake of Game Boy title Metroid 2: Return of Samus for 3DS.
“A surprise sequel after nearly 20 years, Metroid Dread brings back the legendary exploration and progression and merges it with excellent modern combat and some of the best boss fights ever,” we wrote in IGN’s Metroid Dread review, scoring it a 9/10.
For the uninitiated, Nintendo’s side-scrolling Metroid games are narratively separated from its first-person Metroid Prime subseries, though all part of the same overall franchise. Dread and Ravenous sit at the end of the series’ chronology to date, years after the events of last year’s Metroid Prime 4, so don’t expect any direct continuation of that.
Also announced today: the Metroid Ravenous amiibo collection, which will include individual Samus and Chozo Statue figures. A third amiibo, Samus (Metroid Suit), will be bundled with Ravenous’ Special Edition that includes the game and a SteelBook case.
Catch up on all of the big announcements in our roundup of everything announced in today’s Nintendo Direct broadcast, as well as everything announced in The Legend of Zelda Nintendo Direct that aired yesterday.
Tom Phillips
Tom is IGN’s News Editor and a veteran journalist with 20 years of experience in the video games industry.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social