It looks like Nintendo might have sneakily been working on a brand-new mainline game in the Metroid series. As caught by FamiBoards user RaikouLol, a title dubbed Metroid Ravenous was mentioned in an Official Gazette of the Union for July 2026 published by the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The inclusion of Metroid Ravenous in the Gazette seems to have been an accident, and it has since been taken down.
While no clear details about Metroid Ravenous have been revealed through the Gazette, it does note that 2026 is the game’s year of production, which indicates that full production on the title likely began earlier this year. Along with this, the country of origin is noted as being the United States of America. However, this last detail might be inconsequential, since it could just mean that its details were sent to the ministry by Nintendo of America, rather than the game being developed in the country. Metroid Ravenous is also rated for players “12 years or older”.
The naming convention for Metroid Ravenous matches other side-scrolling entries in the franchise, which are often considered to be the mainline games. It would be a follow-up to 2021’s Metroid Dread, which was released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. Taking the mainline entries into account, Metroid Ravenous would be the sixth entry in the series. It would follow up on 1986’s Metroid, 1991’s Metroid 2: Return of Samus, 1994’s Super Metroid, 2002’s Metroid Fusion, and the most recent game, Metroid Dread.
Metroid Dread was the first side-scrolling game in the franchise since Metroid Fusion, and was described by director Yoshio Sakamoto as being a conclusion to a storyline that links protagonist Samus with the strange creatures known only as Metroids. The events of the game take place after Metroid Fusion, with Samus finding hints of surviving X Parasites thanks to a video transmission from planet ZDR. While the Galactic Federation decided to deal with the situation quickly by sending in seven E.M.M.I. robots, Samus decides that she has to take matters into her own hands. However, thanks to having been infused with Metroid DNA herself, Samus also appears to be immune to the X Parasites.
While the sidescrolling Metroid games are seen as the mainline franchise, other major titles like the Metroid Prime series and even Metroid: Other M are seen as being just as important to the story. The most recent release in the franchise in this regard would be Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, which came out on Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2 just last year.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond sees Samus tasked by the Galactic Federation to rescue the UTO Research on planet Tanamaar from a Space Pirate attack. Interestingly, Samus meets her match in the form of fellow bounty hunter Sylux, who happens to be leading the attack on the research station by mind-controlling the Space Pirates with Metroids.
For more details on Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, take a look at our review, where we gave it a score of 7 out of 10.
