Metroid Dread Developer Announces New Game

MercurySteam, the developer behind 2021’s Metroid Dread has announced its next project, a fantasy epic called Blades of Fire. The studio also has some other well-known games on its resume, including Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Metroid: Samus Returns for Nintendo 3DS, and a co-developing credit for Clive Barker’s Jericho. The upcoming action-adventure game by MercurySteam will be published by 505 Games.

Developed alongside Nintendo EDP, Metroid Dread is the game MercurySteam will be most recently known for. The title won numerous awards when it was released, including Nintendo Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, Game of the Year from NME, and two accolades for Best Action/Adventure Game from The Game Awards and Famitsu’s Dengeki Game Awards. The huge success of Metroid Dread, its engaging boss fights and combat, rich environments, and compelling gameplay led to high review scores and anticipation for MercurySteam’s next endeavor.

That game will be arriving on May 22, 2025, according to an announcement by MercurySteam and 505 Games. Blades of Fire is a single-player experience and will be released on Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, and preorders are currently open. Those who purchase the game early will be rewarded with Iron Paladin and Lord of Steel Attires for the game’s protagonist, forging materials, and a weapon decoration.

Metroid Dread’s MercurySteam Announces Blades of Fire

Blades of Fire introduces players to Aran de Lira, “the last hero who can wield steel,” on a mission to kill the queen, who has cast a spell that turns all steel into stone and thus renders her army invincible. Accompanying him is Adso de Zelk, a scholar who abandons his studies at the Abbey of Egion to help Aran on his quest. Adso uses his knowledge to solve puzzles, decipher ancient spells, and build a compendium of enemies encountered along the way.

Throughout their journey, Aran will use his skills, along with uncovered Forge Scrolls, to craft different weapons to suit various playstyles. Blades of Fire will offer seven weapon families and more than 30 Forge Scrolls to find, allowing for great customizability and experimentation. The protagonist will then take his newly forged weapons to the game’s over 50 enemy types, where players will be able to select the body part they want to attack. And using the appropriate weapon type will be crucial to coming out on top.

This may not be the only game that MercurySteam has on its drafting table, either. In 2023, an earnings report by minority stakeholder Nordisk Games revealed that the studio is in fact working on two games. The fantasy project being published by 505, at the time known only as Project Iron, is surely Blades of Fire. The second game is still an unknown, but rumors began swirling in February that MercurySteam may be working on another Metroid game. After players have jumped into the world of Aran and Adso, the developer will hopefully begin to share more about the its second project.