Metroid fans have been worrying about the sci-fi series’ future after last year’s Metroid Prime 4 appeared to sell poorly. But a fresh ratings board leak out of Brazil may have just confirmed a new sequel. A game with the title “Metroid Ravenous” recently appeared in a posting by the Brazilian Ministry of Justice and Public Security. Could it be one of the fall’s surprise Switch 2 releases?
The rating was shared earlier today by journalist Necrolipe on X and on the Famiboards gaming forum. It lists 2026 as the year of production with the United States as the country of origin for the ratings submission. It reportedly received a rating of 12+ based on a review of about 41 minutes of material for “violence (weapons, blood, death) and light sexual content.” And that’s about all we know about this new game so far.
A análise de Metroid Ravenous foi feita no Brasil com base em um link de internet providenciado pela Nintendo of America
Foi 1 capítulo e cerca de 41 minutos a duração do material providenciado. Ele recebeu 12 anos como recomendação devido a presença de violência (armas, sangue,… https://t.co/PCiM2kNSnr pic.twitter.com/xi777Xd6ZZ
— ‘Necro’ Felipe #UnivNintendo (@necrolipe) July 1, 2026
What makes the leak believable as a potential 2D follow-up is that it certainly sounds like what you might name a game that’s acting as a sequel to Metroid Dread, the last side-scrolling game in the series. That 2021 Switch game was made by MercurySteam in collaboration with Nintendo. Five years for a follow-up would make sense. Dread went on to sell over 3 million copies. Not bad for a 2D spin-off in one of Nintendo’s lower-performing franchises.
Another thing that makes it believable, even as a potential holiday 2026 launch, is that we still don’t have any real clue about what’s coming in the second half of the year for Nintendo outside its Ocarina of Time remake. The company recently admitted to struggling with maintaining shorter development times for new releases, but said it has some surprises planned for 2026 that it hasn’t revealed yet.
“We are working on a variety of new titles for Nintendo Switch 2, and not just so-called major titles,” Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said back in May. “For the lineup for the second half of this year, we are preparing new titles in addition to those we have already announced and will communicate the details at the appropriate time.”