Nintendo dropped the first look at Metroid Ravenous during its September 9 Direct, and it's a proper 2D Metroid again. Samus Aran returns for a side-scrolling adventure, this time built for Nintendo Switch 2, and the release date is already set: January 28, 2027.
For anyone who loved Metroid Dread, this is the reveal you've been waiting on. It's been five years since that game hit, and this new one looks to pick up right where it left off, both in tone and in feel.
What the Metroid Ravenous Trailer Showed
The reveal trailer keeps things vague, but it sets the mood. Samus gets swarmed by a pack of strange creatures, and these things don't just hit her. They drain her energy, visibly pulling it out of her as she fights back. It turns a standard Metroid encounter into something far more desperate.
Then it ends on the line everyone's quoting. Samus stares down one of these enemies and says, "It's eat or be eaten." The look on her face is unsettling in a way the series almost never allows. The usually composed hunter seems rattled, maybe even a bit unhinged.
The title gives it away, too. "Ravenous" means starving, greedy, insatiable. That's the energy the game is clearly chasing.
Metroid Ravenous Release Date, Platform, and Editions
- The Metroid Ravenous release date is January 28, 2027, and the game is exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2. If you landed here searching "Metroid Ravenous pc," there's nothing to report: Nintendo hasn't announced a PC version, and there's no original Switch port either. Given how hard the company pushes its new hardware, don't expect either anytime soon.
- MercurySteam is back on development, and that's the same Spanish studio that handled Metroid Dread and the Samus Returns remake before this, so the side-scrolling combat should be in steady hands.
- There's a special edition, too, and it bundles in two new amiibo figures. A separate Samus amiibo and a Chozo statue amiibo are also on the way, and pre-orders are already live at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.
How Metroid Ravenous Ties Into Metroid Dread
Metroid Ravenous is the direct follow-up to Metroid Dread, the 2D Metroid Nintendo shipped in 2021. That game was the first new side-scroller in the series for nearly two decades, and it landed well. IGN scored it a 9, and fans still treat it as a high point for the genre.
The "Ravenous" name isn't a coincidence, either. Dread's final boss was Raven Beak, and fans connected those dots the moment the title leaked. That leak, for the record, came from Brazil's age-rating board back in July. The listing went up, then vanished, and Nintendo stayed quiet for two months before confirming everything on September 9.
And to be clear, this won't continue Metroid Prime 4's story. The 2D Metroid line and the Prime line run on separate timelines. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond shipped in December 2025, but Ravenous picks up after Dread instead. You can jump in without ever touching Prime. Good news for newcomers.
What Metroid Ravenous Means for Switch 2 Owners
A tight 2D Metroid plays to the series' strengths, and MercurySteam has already proven it can deliver that specific rhythm.
The energy-draining enemies hint at a real shift in pressure, too. Dread was tense, but "eat or be eaten" points to something more aggressive, where standing still means losing ground fast. That's a meaningful change from the usual run-and-shoot loop.
No map details, no ability list, no story beyond the teaser. But with January 28, 2027 already on the calendar, Nintendo won't keep those cards hidden for much longer.
Metroid Ravenous looks like a return to form for the 2D series, and it's arriving sooner than a lot of people expected. If you've got a Switch 2, circle January 28, 2027. Simple as that. If those energy-draining enemies deliver on what the trailer teased, this could be the most aggressive Metroid in years.