Metroid Ravenous Lands on Switch 2 January 28, 2027

Samus Returns to Two Dimensions on January 28

Nintendo announced Metroid Ravenous during its September 9 Direct, and it is a brand new side-scrolling Metroid adventure heading to Nintendo Switch 2 on January 28, 2027. After a run of Metroid news dominated by first-person entries, this one goes back to the 2D format the series was born in — and adds a survival hook that gives the game its name.

• Metroid Ravenous arrives January 28, 2027, exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2
• A side-scrolling Metroidvania, continuing the 2D line rather than the first-person one
• Three amiibo figures announced: Samus, a Chozo Statue, and a Samus in Metroid Suit figure included with the Special Edition
• A Special Edition bundles a SteelBook, the game, and the Metroid Suit amiibo

The premise is the interesting part. Samus has sustained grave injuries, and the trailer has her state the stakes plainly — she will survive and get home even if she has to feed on her enemies to do it. Feeding on defeated enemies is the survival mechanic the game is built around, which is a genuinely different framing for a series whose protagonist has spent forty years being the most self-sufficient person in the galaxy.

What Does the Feeding Mechanic Change?

Here is why this is more than flavour text. Classic Metroid design is about locked doors and the abilities that open them — you find the missile upgrade, the missile door stops being a wall. A resource you have to actively harvest from combat changes the rhythm. Enemies stop being obstacles between you and the next room and start being something you might need, which quietly turns every encounter into a decision rather than a toll.

It also fits the Metroid Suit amiibo in the Special Edition, and it lines up chronologically after Metroid Dread. Nintendo has not named the development studio, so anyone circulating a guess is guessing — worth noting given how much speculation a Metroid reveal generates.

The Rest of the September 2026 Nintendo Direct

The 45-minute presentation covered 57 games, and Metroid Ravenous was not the only headline. Kirby and the World Beyond was revealed as an all-new 3D Kirby adventure for Spring 2027. Monster Hunter Wilds arrives on Switch 2 on December 4, 2026 with local co-operative play. Pikmin 4: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition lands November 12 with enhanced visuals and new Dandori Academy exams running Friday through Sunday.

Capcom's Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 remakes come to Switch 2 on October 16, digital only. Star Fox gets a free update on September 29 adding four-player split-screen and three new Battle Mode stages. And Mario Kart World's free update went live the same day, adding ten classic SNES tracks to VS Race plus two more Knockout Tours.

Why This Winter Looks Strong for Switch 2

Line them up and the shape of Nintendo's plan is clear: a dated first-party exclusive every few weeks from November through January, with third-party catalogue support filling the gaps. That is the pattern that turns a console's second year into its best one, and it follows the Ocarina of Time remake dated for November 5 revealed at the earlier Direct this month.

For Metroid fans specifically, a dated 2D entry with a new mechanic is close to the ideal outcome — the series at its most confident is the one that hands you a strange rule and trusts you to work out what it is for. More in our gaming coverage.

Sources: Video Games Chronicle — September 9, 2026; Eurogamer — September 9, 2026.