MercurySteam
| MercurySteam | |
| Company 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 Severance: Blade of Darkness in 2001. Dave Cox, a producer at Konami, assisted MercurySteam during the 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 | — | ||
| Zombies | 2006 | MercurySteam | — | |
| Clive Barker's Jericho | 2007 | Codemasters | Co-developed with Alchemic Productions | |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow | 2010 | Konami | — | |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate | 2013 | Konami | — | |
| Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 | 2014 | Konami | — | |
| Metroid: Samus Returns | 2017 | Nintendo 3DS | Nintendo | Co-developed with Nintendo EPD |
| Spacelords | MercurySteam | — | ||
| Metroid Dread | 2021 | Nintendo Switch | Nintendo | Co-developed with Nintendo EPD |
| American McGee Presents: Scrapland Remastered[10] | Windows | MercurySteam | — | |
| Blades of Fire | 2025 | — |
References
- ^ "Mercury Steam Entertainment S.L." MobyGames. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ "Scrapland Ships for Xbox". Gamershell. 4 March 2005. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
- ^ "Metroid: Samus Returns Is A Remake That Feels Original". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Sheridan, Connor (15 June 2021). "Metroid Dread release date revealed and it's a sequel to Metroid Fusion". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ Handrahan, Matthew (22 December 2020). "Nordisk Games buys 40% of MercurySteam". gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ Koch, Cameron (14 October 2021). "Metroid Dread Studio MercurySteam Doesn't Credit Everyone Who Worked On The Game". GameSpot. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ Francis, Bryant (14 October 2025). "MercurySteam defends leaving developers out of Metroid Dread credits". Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ 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". 3DJuegos (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ Francis, Bryant (16 October 2025). "Metroid Dread dev accused of crunch and retaliation". Game Developer. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ^ "Scrapland Remastered on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2021.