Today, October 8, 2026, marks five years since the release of Metroid Dread! It’s astonishing to think that this game, which was originally teased early in 2005 before slipping into urban legend, is #1 real, and #2, five years old! To celebrate, we’ve written a new feature marking the significance of the reveal and including comments from the Metroid community, as well as a developer who worked on Dread. We hope you enjoy it! Happy 5th anniversary Metroid Dread!
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond re-enters top 10 of UK sales charts
Nearly a year after its release, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond has once again entered the top 10 in the UK sales charts. It placed at number 9 this week according to data compiled by GfK, which indicates that the Switch 2 version accounts for 57% of sales this week, compared to 43% for Switch 1. It placed at #20 in last week’s chart. Metroid Prime 4’s placement might have something to do with recent discounts, and/or the announcement of Metroid Ravenous, which has led to an increase of Metroid Dread’s sales as well.
Source: GfK/Nintendo Life
September 2026 News Roundup
Now that October 2026 is here, we have a roundup of news to share from September:
September 9 – Metroid Ravenous announced for Nintendo Switch 2
September 26 – Metroid Ravenous to be previewed in Game Informer
We published one feature, an analysis of the trailer for Metroid Ravenous.
Additionally, September saw the ninth anniversary of Metroid: Samus Returns, which we marked on our social media pages. As always, we’ll have more content to share in October and even more surprises throughout the rest of 2026, so keep your eyes peeled for that! In the meantime, we’ll see you next mission.
Metroid Ravenous to be previewed in Game Informer
The 382nd issue of Game Informer’s magazine will mainly cover info regarding Grand Theft Auto VI. However, it turns out that this issue will also include a preview of Metroid Ravenous!
We are not certain about the extent that will be revealed to us, but it is possibly the first time we get new information of the game since its reveal in the September 9th Nintendo Direct.
A subscription is needed in order to get your hands on the GTA VI Metroid Ravenous cover story, and it will include 10 issues a year. This issue will be available September 29th, in both a digital format and a physical one.
Source: Game Informer
Feature: Metroid Ravenous Announcement Trailer Analysis
Metroid Ravenous was shown to the world earlier this week. Deputy Creative Director Irene has taken the task to analyse the trailer to better understand the new underlying systems at hand, and to perhaps unearth abilities (new and old) that might have been hinted at or otherwise been hidden in plain sight!
Some of it is speculation, but it’s written in depth and there might be spoilers for those that wish to experience this game blind!
Metroid Ravenous announced for Nintendo Switch 2
The successor for Metroid 5 has been announced, and it is indeed called ‘Ravenous’! Thanks to the great success of Dread, we thankfully we did not need to wait for decades for the follow-up, and we’re excited to see more of it!
Metroid Ravenous will have a special edition, featuring a steel book, game, and an amiibo featuring Samus in her Metroid Suit. There will also be a new set of amiibo, featuring an amiibo for Samus Aran as she appears in Ravenous and one for a Chozo Statue.
Per the Nintendo eShop page, the game supports HDR output and a 120hz refresh rate! It is estimated to be 20.2 GB (Dread is 4.2 GB, but was estimated to be 6.9 GB)
Official Description:
It’s eat or be eaten
After her ship crash lands on a moon, Samus Aran is ambushed by a mysterious group of assassins. Severely wounded from the attack, the bounty hunter must now navigate an underground world and gain new abilities to find her way back to the surface.
Devour your foes
To survive this hostile environment, Samus must use her latent Metroid powers to regain energy by feeding on her prey. Stun enemies by countering their attacks, then act fast to drain their energy.
Seek revenge
The five Space Ninjas who ambushed Samus lie in wait for her throughout this labyrinthian world. Face them in thrilling one-on-one battles where you’ll get up close and personal with these assassins and their powerful weaponry.
The game is scheduled to release January 28th, 2027!
Key art, special edition, amiibo, and screenshots of the game can be found below:
August 2026 News Roundup
Now that September 2026 is here, we would normally share a roundup of the Metroid news we had in the previous month, August. However, we did not have any news to report last month. We did share a video marking the 40th anniversary of Metroid on August 6, and a feature revealing the results of our annual Favorite Metroid Game Poll for 2026.
Additionally, August also saw the anniversaries of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Metroid Prime Trilogy. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid: Other M, each of which we marked on social media pages.
As always, we’ll have more content to share in September and even more surprises throughout the rest of 2026, so keep your eyes peeled for that! In the meantime, we’ll see you next mission.
Feature: Your Favorite Metroid Game 2026
The results of our Annual Favorite Metroid Game Poll for 2026 are now available. We shared them earlier in August in our video marking the 40th anniversary of Metroid, but now we’re sharing them in written form. After 311 votes and thousands of points, find out how each game ranked at the link below.
July 2026 News Roundup
Now that August 2026 is here, we have prepared a roundup of the Metroid news we had in July. See below:
July 1 – BREAKING: Brazilian ratings board leaks new Metroid game
We published one new feature in July, a tribute to Admiral Dane himself, Timothy Patrick Miller.
As always, we’ll have more content to share in August, including the results of our annual favorite Metroid game poll. We’ll have even more surprises throughout the rest of 2026, so keep your eyes peeled for that! In the meantime, we’ll see you next mission.
Feature: A Tribute to Timothy Patrick Miller
We have a new feature to share with you. We learned a short while ago that Timothy Patrick Miller, the voice of Admiral Dane in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, sadly died in June 2025 after a long illness. Members of the Shinesparkers team, including our founder Darren, who interviewed Timothy in 2010, gathered to share tributes to him. We also included some comments from our followers on social media.
The Shinesparkers team wishes to thank Timothy Miller for his memorable performance as Admiral Dane. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.