Metroid Dread is UK’s best launch in series to date

Metroid Dread has earned the highest-grossing UK launch in Nintendo’s fan-favourite series ever, and is the fastest-selling entry since Metroid Prime 1.

Even more impressive is the fact this is all just boxed sales – not digital, which Nintendo does not disclose. With those included, Dread will likely have easily beaten Prime 1. Without them, less than 1000 copies separate the two.

Metroid is still a markedly smaller series in terms of reach than Mario or Zelda, but one which is clearly growing. GamesIndustry.biz reports Dread shifted more than three times the number of copies at launch than Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS in 2017.

All of this stands the series in good stead for whenever Metroid Prime 4 finally arrives. The last we heard of that was the game being rebooted from scratch by Retro Studios, back in January 2019.

I spoke with Metroid Prime series producer Kensuke Tanabe back in 2015 about his ideas for a fourth Metroid Prime game – including which story arcs and characters from the original trilogy might crop up again, and which he now considered concluded.