Summary
- MercurySteam, the developer behind Metroid Dread, is reportedly working on two major unannounced titles, sparking anticipation among gamers for what the studio has in store for the future.
- One of the projects is suspected to be a fantasy game called "Project Iron," developed in collaboration with publisher 505 Games, with a budget of over $30 million, promising competition against other top fantasy games.
- Despite controversies surrounding the studio's work environment and omissions in the credits of Metroid Dread, CEO Enric Alvarez recently defended the studio's success and assures fans that they have nothing to worry about when it comes to the quality of future games.
The developer behind Metroid Dread and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, MercurySteam, is reportedly working on two major unannounced titles. Metroid Dread was a huge hit back in 2021, and the studio has not released anything new since then, so gamers are eager to know what MercurySteam has in store for the future.
MercurySteam is a developer based in Madrid, Spain. Most of its high-profile releases were developed for other companies, including three games of the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow series for Konami, and two Metroid titles for Nintendo. While the reception around the Castlevania titles was mostly mixed, Metroid Dread received several glowing reviews and even managed to become the best-selling game of the franchise with over 3 million units sold, overcoming big successes like Metroid Prime.
Now, the developer seems to be working on two new projects. According to earning reports from Nordisk Games, which owns a minority stake in MercurySteam, the company is developing two large, undisclosed games at the moment. While neither project was officially announced, one of them is probably a fantasy game that the studio is creating together with the publisher 505 Games.
Reports indicate that the fantasy title is named Project Iron, will be released on multiple platforms, and had a budget of over $30 million to start, which would likely lead it to compete with some of the best fantasy games available right now. The second game, however, is entirely clouded in mystery at this point. Considering that MercurySteam has worked with both Konami and Nintendo before, something along the lines of a new Castlevania or Metroid is not impossible, but it’s also far from guaranteed.
Despite the recent success of Metroid Dread, MercurySteam is not without its controversies, especially concerning what happened during the development of its latest game. Back in 2021, the company was accused of being a chaotic, stressful environment by former employees, and was also criticized for omitting the name of former staff members from the credits of Metroid Dread. In a recent interview, however, the studio’s CEO Enric Alvarez responded to the allegations that MercurySteam was chaotic. According to him, this was not true, otherwise Metroid Dread would not have been so successful with both the public and critics. Time will tell whether the next games of the Spanish studio will keep the high quality, but if Metroid Dread is an example of the dev’s finest work, gamers should have nothing to worry about.
Source: VGC