Metroid Dread – 2.7 million copies sold in less than 3 months

Metroid Dread – 2.7 million copies sold in less than 3 months

Metroid is a beloved franchise among gamers, but it sadly has never been a commercial success.

As a result, Nintendo spent almost two decades without releasing a new 2D Metroid game. Metroid Dread finally arrived on Switch in October, ending the lengthy wait. It was met with positive reviews (including our Game of the Year Award) and record sales in the United States and Japan upon its release. We now have a three-month update on Metroid Dread sales according to the latest Nintendo report.

Sales of Metroid Dread

According to Nintendo’s third-quarter earnings report, Metroid Dread sold 2.74 million copies. As of December 31, that statistic represents the number of physical copies sold to merchants plus the number of digital downloads. In their explanation, Nintendo said that over 2.3 million copies were sold directly to consumers.

It’s a strong start for a brand whose games typically sell slightly over a million copies.

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Metroid Dread’s sales compared to other Metroid games:

  • 2.73 million people have downloaded Metroid.
  • 1.72 million for Metroid II: Samus Returns
  • 1.42 million people have downloaded Super Metroid.
  • 1.6 million people have downloaded Metroid Fusion.
  • 2.84 million people bought Metroid Prime.
  • 1.1 million people have downloaded Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.
  • 1.08 million people bought Metroid Prime: Hunters.
  • 1.41 million people have downloaded Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Missing Metroid sales …

Several games aren’t included in this sales round-up because comprehensive, official data isn’t available for many of them. Metroid Dread, on the other hand, looks to be in second position all time! Nintendo hasn’t always placed a lot of emphasis on Metroid’s sales, but Metroid Dread’s excellent sales should alter that in the future.

With Metroid Prime 4 on the way (and rumors of a Metroid Prime 1 remake circulating), the series has a strong possibility of becoming a major franchise in the future.

Let’s just hope Nintendo keeps on pushing Metroid hard from now on!