Metroid Dread Nearing Completion by Matt Casamassina for IGN on August 27, 2007
In 2005, IGN got hold of an official internal Nintendo software list that revealed a number of key DS games set to be announced in the future. All of the games on the list, including titles like Super Princess Peach, were eventually announced and released. All, that is, except for one — a project known simply as Metroid Dread. To this day, Metroid Dread, thought to be a traditional 2D sequel in the Metroid franchise designed specifically for Nintendo’s dual-screen handheld, has never publicly been acknowledged by the mega-publisher. But an unofficial nod to the project has been found hidden within the 20-hour adventure of fantastic Wii first-person adventure Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, developed by Retro Studios.
Players who journey deep enough into Samus Aran’s Wii quest can use Aran’s scan visor to read lore and lob enemies and objects. Doing just that on one mid-game world, we stumbled upon a panel with the following message, quoted verbatim below:
“Experiment status report update: Metroid project ‘Dread’ is nearing the final stages of completion.”
16 years later, Nintendo has finally revived the Metroid Dread name, launching on Nintendo Switch October 8, 2021.
Ironically (and thankfully), I decided to record my reaction to the Direct for the first time ever. I happily lost it when Nintendo acknowledged my favorite bounty hunter.
Arlo’s reaction is also very fun.