Metroid Dread[a] is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by MercurySteam and Nintendo EPD for the Nintendo Switch. Set after the events of Metroid Fusion (2002), players control bounty hunter Samus Aran as she faces a nefarious robotic enemy on the planet ZDR. It retains the side-scrolling gameplay of previous 2D Metroid games, and adds stealth elements.

Dread was conceived as a Nintendo DS game in the mid-2000s, but was canceled due to technical limitations. Many in the industry expressed interest in a new 2D Metroid game, and listed Dread in their "most wanted" lists.

After being impressed with their work on Metroid: Samus Returns in 2017, longtime producer Yoshio Sakamoto appointed MercurySteam to develop the next major installment of the series, leading to the revival of the Dread project.[1] Nintendo announced the game at E3 2021. It is the first original side-scrolling Metroid game since Fusion, and is scheduled for release on October 8, 2021.

Metroid (Japanese: メトロイド Hepburn: Metoroido) is a science fiction action-adventure video game series created by Nintendo. The series is primarily produced by the company's first-party developers Nintendo R&D1 and Retro Studios, although some installments were handled by other developers, including Fuse Games, Team Ninja, Next Level Games, and MercurySteam.

The series chronicles the missions of space-faring bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from the depredations of the Space Pirates and their attempts to harness the power of the eponymous Metroids. Metroid combines the platforming of Super Mario Bros. and the exploration aspect of The Legend of Zelda with a decidedly darker atmosphere and a greater emphasis on nonlinear gameplay.