Metroid Dread finally brought Samus Aran back to her 2d gaming roots and was a hit with fans and critics alike. The game's developer, MercurySteam, hit it out of the park by creating a game that simultaneously brought back that old school Metroid feel while also creating an aura of dread – just like the title! – with its scary, nigh-unkillable robots constantly stalking you. It was a nice surprise to get that game, but despite its success, it doesn't look like MercurySteam will be working on another Metroid title anytime soon.
It was revealed in an announcement today from publisher 505 Games that MercurySteam's next project will be an entirely new intellectual property. The game seems to be in the very early stages of development since there isn't much information about it. It doesn't even seem to have an official name yet as it's currently titled Project Iron. All we know is that the game is set to have a budget of around $30 million, the property itself will be co-owned by MercurySteam and Digital Bros – 505 Games' parent company – and it will be a dark fantasy RPG. It also is expected to release on multiple consoles and PC.
Considering what this developer was able to do with the Metroid IP, a whole new fantasy universe created by them does sound like a tantalizing prospect.
To add to the company's recent good fortune, Metroid Dread is currently in the running to be voted Game Of The Year in this year's edition of The Game Awards. It faces some stiff competition as it's up against Deathloop, It Takes Two, Psychonauts 2, Resident Evil Village and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Samus' latest adventure is up for Best Action Adventure game as well.
While it was swell to see a Metroid game release this year, there's still little to no news on the status of Metroid Prime 4. The beleaguered sequel to Samus' first-person shooter series has been in trouble ever since development was scrapped and the whole project had to start over from scratch with original developer Retro Studios at the helm. Aside from periodic reassurances from Nintendo that the game still exists, things have seemed bleak for this long-awaited title. All we can do right now is assume that Retro Studios is currently hard at work on it and that things are progressing quietly yet smoothly.
For now, at least we have Metroid Dread to play, and hopefully Project Iron will wind up being a hit for MercurySteam too. Also, has anyone heard anything about that Metroid Prime Trilogy Switch port? What ever happened to that?
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