MercurySteam on Metroid Dread's ending and 'that' Samus: "We were hungry, Nintendo were open"

At Gamelab 2023 we got the chance to talk at long length with MercurySteam's Enric Álvarez. The first half of the video below is thus dedicated to the Spanish studio's culture and the CEO's panel at the conference, the second half to the different games they released as of late or will release in the future. At least, what can be discussed as of now. Towards the 12-minute time mark we talk about the highly praised Metroid Dread:

"Thank you very much", says Álvarez when congratulated on that success without forgetting director José Luis Márquez and his team in the studio. "It was a hell of an experience working with the best and trying to be up to the task of reaching the super high standards of Nintendo. It was heaven working with them. We worked very closely with the Japanese team, meetings every week and visits so often. And it was incredible. Game-changer experience for us."

"And then the product, well, both products, Samus Returns and Dread," he continues, "they were very, very well accepted. And Dread was the best-selling game, the best-selling Metroid game ever, even higher than Metroid Prime. So, yeah, I mean, couldn't be happier".

For the reasons listed in our Metroid Dread review back then, we then joked about calling the game Metroid Dare, given the boldness of some of the game's narrative impacting both the lore of the series and, spoiler alert, Samus herself, more so towards the game's ending.

"We have an excellent understanding of each other", the CEO recalls when asked about both pitching those crazy ideas and Nintendo being willing to test them. "I think that it's fair to say that over time we became friends. And they are super talented people, super hard-working people. They have a work ethic that is unbeatable. And they are open to accept new ideas and to try them. So, we were also very hungry for leaving our own mark in the franchise. And we never ceased to suggest and propose ideas. And many of them ended up in the final product. So, we are very proud of the collaboration between us and Nintendo. And, yeah, as I said, one of the best development experiences we could possibly dream of".

Was Metroid Dread's development chaotic?

The mention to the project itself brought us to the reports claiming that the development of the game was a mess, to which Álvarez offers the following statement:

"I don't think the development was chaotic. Chaotic development doesn't end with one of the best games in the franchise. It doesn't end with a game that has sold over three point something million copies. It doesn't end with a game that won TGA awards. That's all I have to say about it."

Is more Metroid by MercurySteam coming?

Rumour has it, naturally, that MercurySteam is already working on a new Dread-like Metroid for either the Nintendo Switch or its TBA successor, which would make all the sense in the world given the reasons above, and thus at two points in the interview we tried to learn more... but no dice:

"Well, about the projects we are doing today, there's nothing I can say", says Álvarez when asked if they're still proposing ideas to this day. "So, a simple no comment will make it".

"All I can say is that José Luis is still in the studio. Period", he adds later, towards the end of the interview, when talking about the current studio structure and when asked if we could expect more by the director of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Metroid: Samus Returns, and Metroid Dread.

With Metroid Prime 4 being currently developed by Retro Studios, do you want more Metroid by MercurySteam and what would you like to see in it? Leave a comment below.