Company:MercurySteam
| MercurySteam | |
| Type | Sociedad Limitada |
| Industry | Video games |
| Predecessor | Rebel Act Studios |
| Founded | May 2002[1] |
| Founders | Enric Álvarez José Ignacio Navas |
| Headquarters | San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid, Spain |
Key people | Enric Álvarez Dave Cox |
| Owner | Nordisk Film (40%) |
Number of employees | 246 (Nov. 2024) |
| Website | mercurysteam |
Mercury Steam Entertainment S.L., doing business as MercurySteam, is a Spanish video game developer based in San Sebastián de los Reyes, Madrid. It was founded by former members of Rebel Act Studios, who had developed Software:Severance: Blade of Darkness in 2001. Dave Cox, a producer at Konami, assisted MercurySteam during the Software:Castlevania: Lords of Shadow trilogy.[2]
After MercurySteam pitched a remake of the 2002 game Metroid Fusion to Nintendo, the producer, Yoshio Sakamoto, hired them to create a remake of Metroid II instead.[3] MercurySteam collaborated with Nintendo again to develop a new game, Metroid Dread, for the Nintendo Switch.[4] In December 2020, Nordisk Film, under their Nordisk Games division, purchased a 40% stake in the studio.[5]
In October 2021, the company came under fire for excluding staff members from the credits of Metroid Dread. A representative defended the decision to GameSpot, stating "We accredit all those who certify a minimum participation in a particular project—usually the vast majority of devs. We set the minimum at 25% of development time."[6][7] In October 2025, 3DJuegos reported that current and former employees of MercurySteam experienced a toxic work environment during the development of Blades of Fire, especially in early to mid-2025. These include forced 10-hour workdays and intimidation strategies.[8][9]
Games developed
| Title | Year | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American McGee Presents: Scrapland | 2004 | N/A | ||
| Zombies | 2006 | MercurySteam | N/A | |
| Clive Barker's Jericho | 2007 | Codemasters | Co-developed with Alchemic Productions | |
| Software:Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | 2010 | Konami | N/A | |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate | 2013 |
|
Konami | N/A |
| Software:Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | 2014 | Konami | N/A | |
| Software:Metroid: Samus Returns | 2017 | Nintendo 3DS | Nintendo | Co-developed with Nintendo EPD |
| Spacelords |
|
MercurySteam | N/A | |
| Metroid Dread | 2021 | Nintendo Switch | Nintendo | Co-developed with Nintendo EPD |
| American McGee Presents: Scrapland Remastered[10] | Windows | MercurySteam | N/A | |
| Blades of Fire | 2025 |
|
N/A |
References
- ↑ "Mercury Steam Entertainment S.L.". MobyGames. https://www.mobygames.com/company/5615/mercury-steam-entertainment-sl/.
- ↑ "Scrapland Ships for Xbox". Gamershell. 4 March 2005. http://www.gamershell.com/news_20635.html. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ↑ "Metroid: Samus Returns Is A Remake That Feels Original" (in en). Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/games/metroid_samus_returns/b/3ds/archive/2017/09/04/metroid-made-new-samus-returns-is-a-remake-that-feels-like-an-original-experience.aspx. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ↑ Sheridan, Connor (15 June 2021). "Metroid Dread release date revealed and it's a sequel to Metroid Fusion" (in en). https://www.gamesradar.com/metroid-dread-release-date-revealed-and-its-a-sequel-to-metroid-fusion/.
- ↑ Handrahan, Matthew (22 December 2020). "Nordisk Games buys 40% of MercurySteam" (in en). https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-12-22-nordisk-games-buys-40-percent-of-mercurysteam.
- ↑ Koch, Cameron (14 October 2021). "Metroid Dread Studio MercurySteam Doesn't Credit Everyone Who Worked On The Game". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/metroid-dread-studio-mercurysteam-does-not-credit-everyone-who-worked-on-the-game/1100-6497085/.
- ↑ Francis, Bryant (14 October 2025). "MercurySteam defends leaving developers out of Metroid Dread credits" (in en). https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/mercurysteam-defends-its-leaving-developers-out-of-metroid-dread-credits.
- ↑ Amores "Blissy", Marina (15 October 2025). ""Si algo hace bien MercurySteam es jugar con el miedo porque no hay otro lugar donde ir": Así se ha degradado el ambiente laboral en uno de los estudios de videojuegos más grandes de España" (in es). 3DJuegos. https://www.3djuegos.com/juegos/blades-of-fire/noticias/trabajadores-mercurysteam-algo-hace-bien-mercury-jugar-miedo-porque-no-hay-otro-lugar-donde-ir-industria.
- ↑ Francis, Bryant (16 October 2025). "Metroid Dread dev accused of crunch and retaliation" (in en). Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/report-metroid-dread-developer-mercurysteamworks-accused-of-retaliation-and-forced-crunch.
- ↑ "Scrapland Remastered on Steam" (in en). https://store.steampowered.com/app/897610/.
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