By This Hour Technology Desk
Walmart is reported to be listing the physical Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Metroid Ravenous for $59.88, a price that would place the forthcoming game $10.11 below its stated $69.99 list price. For buyers considering an early purchase, the reduction amounts to roughly 14%.
The offer matters chiefly because it applies before the game’s reported release date of January 28, 2027, and because the lower figure is attached to a physical edition rather than being described simply as a broad reduction across every version. The reported price also puts the boxed preorder close to the price readers might associate with a discounted digital purchase, although the supplied reporting does not set out the digital edition’s price, its availability, or whether it is subject to any similar promotion.
There is an important limit to the apparent bargain: the available account does not say how long Walmart will keep the $59.88 price in place. It does not establish whether the retailer has set a fixed end date, allotted a limited quantity at that price, or imposed terms that could affect which customers can obtain it. A displayed preorder price can be useful information for prospective buyers, but the duration of the price is central to its practical value—and is not established here.
A lower price before a release still months away
The reported arithmetic is straightforward. Subtracting $59.88 from the stated $69.99 list price produces a difference of $10.11. Measured against $69.99, that is approximately 14.4%, commonly rounded to 14%. The figure is modest in cash terms but more conspicuous in a category where new releases are often presented at a single headline price before launch.
What Walmart’s listing represents is narrower than a general declaration about the game’s market price. The report identifies a particular retailer, a particular physical format and a particular console version: Nintendo Switch 2. It does not provide comparable prices from other sellers, nor does it demonstrate that the $69.99 figure is universal across editions or storefronts. Readers should therefore understand the report as a claim about one listed preorder, not evidence of an industry-wide repricing of Metroid Ravenous.
That distinction also leaves several purchase details unresolved. The supplied material does not say whether the price is available only in a particular territory, whether it requires a membership or other condition, whether delivery charges apply, or whether the retailer will honor the displayed price if it changes before release. It also does not describe cancellation rules, order limits, stock status, or the treatment of preorders should the game’s launch timing move.
Those omissions do not negate the reported price. They do, however, define how confidently it can be used. A prospective buyer can view $59.88 as the reported listing at the time of the account, rather than as a guaranteed final outlay or a promise that will remain available through release day. The only supported comparison is between that figure and the cited $69.99 list price.
Ravenous is described as a return to side-scrolling play
The price report arrives alongside a limited outline of the game itself. Metroid Ravenous is described as a side-scrolling adventure for Nintendo Switch 2 and as a return to the series’ 2D-style roots. In the available account, it is characterized as the first side-scrolling entry in the series since 2021’s Metroid Dread, which was released for Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo reportedly first showed the game during a Nintendo Direct presentation in September 2026. The account describes that reveal as moving between cinematic material and gameplay in which Samus traverses varied environments, including by dashing and rolling, while fighting enemies and bosses. That establishes the broad presentation of the project, but not a full account of its design, systems, length, technical performance or final contents.
The report further frames the game around Samus attempting to escape a planet while confronting those in her path. It links that premise to the powerful abilities she absorbs near the conclusion of Metroid Dread. Yet its description stops short of identifying the wider story, the nature of the planet, the opposing forces, or how the game will build on the earlier entry’s ending. Those details are said to be under wraps.
That gap is material when assessing the significance of a preorder. A price cut may make an advance order more attractive to players already committed to the series, but the supplied information does not offer the kind of complete product picture that would settle questions for less certain buyers. It contains no detailed inventory of new mechanics, no account of modes or features, and no indication of how closely the final release will resemble its initial presentation.
The physical-format distinction carries the key limitation
The emphasis on a physical preorder is not incidental. The report is specifically about the boxed Nintendo Switch 2 version sold through Walmart. It does not say that every edition of Metroid Ravenous is reduced, and it does not support a conclusion that digital buyers will receive the same price. Nor does it describe any collector’s, deluxe or alternative edition.
For that reason, the most accurate reading is also the most restrained: the reported offer creates a lower entry price for one named format at one retailer. It does not establish a broader price floor for the game. A reader comparing formats would need information absent from the supplied material, including the respective contents, availability and prices of those formats, before deciding whether $59.88 is the best option for their preferences.
The report says Walmart has offered preorder discounts on upcoming Nintendo games before and suggests such offers may sometimes cease to appear. That is contextual rather than a firm prediction about Ravenous. No stated end date has been provided for this promotion, and no schedule is given for changes to the listed price. The possibility that the offer could disappear is therefore a reason to recognize uncertainty, not evidence that a change is imminent.
There is a further timing issue. With a reported January 28, 2027 launch, the preorder period leaves a substantial interval between the cited listing and release. The source material does not say whether Nintendo’s date is final, whether Walmart has aligned its listing to a formal release schedule, or how either party would handle revisions. The game’s announced timing and the retailer’s displayed price should both be treated as reported present information rather than immutable terms.
What the report does and does not establish
On the evidence available, the core claim is tightly defined: Walmart is reported to offer the physical Switch 2 preorder at $59.88 against a $69.99 listed price. The difference can be calculated, and the claimed reduction is internally consistent. The same account places the game’s planned launch on January 28, 2027 and identifies a September 2026 Nintendo Direct as its first showing.
Beyond those points, certainty falls away. The reporting does not provide direct confirmation from Walmart or Nintendo in the material supplied here. It does not document the full preorder terms, verify ongoing availability, or answer whether shoppers elsewhere can receive the same deal. It also leaves the game’s unrevealed mechanics and broader narrative unexplained.
Accordingly, prospective buyers should avoid treating the cited listing as proof of a permanent price, a discount available across all versions, or a complete description of the game. The report has not been independently corroborated. Its claims rest on a single secondary account, and the relevant price, availability, preorder conditions and release plans could require confirmation from the retailer or publisher before a purchase decision is made.
For further context on this subject, see MIT Technology Review Spotlights Biotech Talent in 2026 Under-35 List.
Reporting notes
What is confirmed: The reported listing is for the physical Switch 2 edition and cites a January 28, 2027 release date.
Why this matters: The reported offer would reduce the upfront price by $10.11, but its duration and conditions are not established.
What remains unclear: Availability, offer terms, an end date, other edition prices and final game details are not provided. This report is based on one source and has not been independently corroborated.
