diff --git a/packages/nextjs/package.json b/packages/nextjs/package.json
index b2241c05cf53..60198a3935a2 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/package.json
+++ b/packages/nextjs/package.json
@@ -17,9 +17,10 @@
     "access": "public"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@sentry/browser": "6.2.0",
+    "@sentry/core": "6.2.0",
+    "@sentry/minimal": "6.2.0",
     "@sentry/node": "6.2.0",
-    "@sentry/minimal": "6.2.0"
+    "@sentry/react": "6.2.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@sentry/types": "6.2.0",
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/browser.ts b/packages/nextjs/src/browser.ts
index da49c2089482..7c431144f3fd 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/src/browser.ts
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/browser.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,20 @@
-import { init as browserInit } from '@sentry/browser';
+import { init as reactInit } from '@sentry/react';
 
-import { MetadataBuilder, NextjsOptions } from './options';
+import { InitDecider } from './utils/initDecider';
+import { MetadataBuilder } from './utils/metadataBuilder';
+import { NextjsOptions } from './utils/nextjsOptions';
 
-/** Inits the Sentry NextJS SDK on the browser. */
+/** Inits the Sentry NextJS SDK on the browser with the React SDK. */
 export function init(options: NextjsOptions): any {
-  const metadataBuilder = new MetadataBuilder(options, ['nextjs', 'browser']);
+  const metadataBuilder = new MetadataBuilder(options, ['nextjs', 'react']);
   metadataBuilder.addSdkMetadata();
-  browserInit(options);
+  const initDecider = new InitDecider(options);
+  if (initDecider.shouldInitSentry()) {
+    reactInit(options);
+  } else {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+    console.log('[Sentry] Detected a non-production environment. Not initializing Sentry.');
+  }
 }
 
 export * from '@sentry/minimal';
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/node.ts b/packages/nextjs/src/node.ts
index aefb8d6557a1..d17a6b2b5cd2 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/src/node.ts
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/node.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,20 @@
 import { init as nodeInit } from '@sentry/node';
 
-import { MetadataBuilder, NextjsOptions } from './options';
+import { InitDecider } from './utils/initDecider';
+import { MetadataBuilder } from './utils/metadataBuilder';
+import { NextjsOptions } from './utils/nextjsOptions';
 
 /** Inits the Sentry NextJS SDK on node. */
 export function init(options: NextjsOptions): any {
   const metadataBuilder = new MetadataBuilder(options, ['nextjs', 'node']);
   metadataBuilder.addSdkMetadata();
-  nodeInit(options);
+  const initDecider = new InitDecider(options);
+  if (initDecider.shouldInitSentry()) {
+    nodeInit(options);
+  } else {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+    console.log('[Sentry] Detected a non-production environment. Not initializing Sentry.');
+  }
 }
 
 export * from '@sentry/minimal';
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/sdk.ts b/packages/nextjs/src/sdk.ts
index 0cbfbc1e472f..880a45edc4f2 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/src/sdk.ts
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/sdk.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
-import { init as browserInit } from '@sentry/browser';
+import { init as reactInit } from '@sentry/react';
 
-import { MetadataBuilder, NextjsOptions } from './options';
+import { InitDecider } from './utils/initDecider';
+import { MetadataBuilder } from './utils/metadataBuilder';
+import { NextjsOptions } from './utils/nextjsOptions';
 
 /**
  * The Sentry NextJS SDK Client.
@@ -11,5 +13,11 @@ import { MetadataBuilder, NextjsOptions } from './options';
 export function init(options: NextjsOptions): void {
   const metadataBuilder = new MetadataBuilder(options, ['nextjs']);
   metadataBuilder.addSdkMetadata();
-  browserInit(options);
+  const initDecider = new InitDecider(options);
+  if (initDecider.shouldInitSentry()) {
+    reactInit(options);
+  } else {
+    // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+    console.log('[Sentry] Detected a non-production environment. Not initializing Sentry.');
+  }
 }
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/utils/initDecider.ts b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/initDecider.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..eca6ed1b9382
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/initDecider.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import { NextjsOptions } from './nextjsOptions';
+
+export class InitDecider {
+  private _options: NextjsOptions;
+
+  constructor(options: NextjsOptions) {
+    this._options = options;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns a boolean representing whether the NextJS SDK should be initialised.
+   *
+   * The SDK should be initialised if the `dev` option is set to true.
+   * `dev` is optional, so if it isn't set or is set to false, the SDK will only
+   * be initialised in a production environment.
+   */
+  public shouldInitSentry(): boolean {
+    if (this._isEnabledInDev() || this._isProdEnv()) {
+      return true;
+    }
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns true if the option `dev` is true, and false otherwise.
+   */
+  private _isEnabledInDev(): boolean {
+    return this._options.dev || false;
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Returns whether the environment is a production environment.
+   */
+  private _isProdEnv(): boolean {
+    return process.env.NODE_ENV !== undefined && process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production';
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/options.ts b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/metadataBuilder.ts
similarity index 76%
rename from packages/nextjs/src/options.ts
rename to packages/nextjs/src/utils/metadataBuilder.ts
index 2d7424db17aa..a20ca13b5700 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/src/options.ts
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/metadataBuilder.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,11 @@
-import { BrowserOptions, SDK_VERSION } from '@sentry/browser';
-import { NodeOptions } from '@sentry/node';
-import { Options, Package, SdkInfo } from '@sentry/types';
+import { SDK_VERSION } from '@sentry/core';
+import { Package, SdkInfo } from '@sentry/types';
+
+import { NextjsOptions } from './nextjsOptions';
 
 const SDK_NAME = 'sentry.javascript.nextjs';
 const PACKAGE_NAME_PREFIX = 'npm:@sentry/';
 
-export interface NextjsOptions extends Options, BrowserOptions, NodeOptions {
-  // TODO: options for NextJS
-}
-
 /**
  * A builder for the SDK metadata in the options for the SDK initialization.
  */
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/utils/nextjsOptions.ts b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/nextjsOptions.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b9eefefbfb20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/nextjsOptions.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+import { NodeOptions } from '@sentry/node';
+import { BrowserOptions } from '@sentry/react';
+import { Options } from '@sentry/types';
+
+export interface NextjsOptions extends Options, BrowserOptions, NodeOptions {
+  /**
+   * A flag enabling the initialization of the SDK in development and other
+   * non-production environments. By default, the SDK is only initialised in
+   * production.
+   */
+  dev?: boolean;
+}
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/test/initDecider.test.ts b/packages/nextjs/test/initDecider.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..eaafa7ef3397
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/nextjs/test/initDecider.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import { InitDecider } from '../src/utils/initDecider';
+import { NextjsOptions } from '../src/utils/nextjsOptions';
+
+function setDevEnv(): void {
+  process.env.NODE_ENV = 'development';
+}
+
+function setProdEnv(): void {
+  process.env.NODE_ENV = 'production';
+}
+
+function getEmptyOptions(): NextjsOptions {
+  return {};
+}
+
+function getDevTrueOptions(): NextjsOptions {
+  return { dev: true };
+}
+
+function getDevFalseOptions(): NextjsOptions {
+  return { dev: false };
+}
+
+describe('decide initialization in development', () => {
+  beforeEach(setDevEnv);
+
+  test('without options', () => {
+    const initDecider = new InitDecider(getEmptyOptions());
+    expect(initDecider.shouldInitSentry()).toBeFalsy();
+  });
+
+  test('without development', () => {
+    const initDecider = new InitDecider(getDevFalseOptions());
+    expect(initDecider.shouldInitSentry()).toBeFalsy();
+  });
+
+  test('with development', () => {
+    const initDecider = new InitDecider(getDevTrueOptions());
+    expect(initDecider.shouldInitSentry()).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+});
+
+describe('decide initialization in production', () => {
+  beforeEach(setProdEnv);
+
+  test('without options', () => {
+    const initDecider = new InitDecider(getEmptyOptions());
+    expect(initDecider.shouldInitSentry()).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  test('without development', () => {
+    const initDecider = new InitDecider(getDevFalseOptions());
+    expect(initDecider.shouldInitSentry()).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  test('with development', () => {
+    const initDecider = new InitDecider(getDevTrueOptions());
+    expect(initDecider.shouldInitSentry()).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 8d6999cf827d..afc2984a37f5 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -3276,7 +3276,7 @@
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@protobufjs/utf8/-/utf8-1.1.0.tgz#a777360b5b39a1a2e5106f8e858f2fd2d060c570"
   integrity sha1-p3c2C1s5oaLlEG+OhY8v0tBgxXA=
 
-"@sentry/browser@^6.2.0":
+"@sentry/browser@6.2.0":
   version "6.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sentry/browser/-/browser-6.2.0.tgz#4113a92bc82f55e63f30cb16a94f717bd0b95817"
   integrity sha512-4r3paHcHXLemj471BtNDhUs2kvJxk5XDRplz1dbC/LHXN5PWEXP4anhGILxOlxqi4y33r53PIZu3xXFjznaVZA==
@@ -3306,7 +3306,7 @@
     "@sentry/utils" "6.2.0"
     tslib "^1.9.3"
 
-"@sentry/minimal@6.2.0", "@sentry/minimal@^6.2.0":
+"@sentry/minimal@6.2.0":
   version "6.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sentry/minimal/-/minimal-6.2.0.tgz#718b70babb55912eeb38babaf7823d1bcdd77d1e"
   integrity sha512-haxsx8/ZafhZUaGeeMtY7bJt9HbDlqeiaXrRMp1CxGtd0ZRQwHt60imEjl6IH1I73SEWxNfqScGsX2s3HzztMg==
@@ -3315,7 +3315,7 @@
     "@sentry/types" "6.2.0"
     tslib "^1.9.3"
 
-"@sentry/node@^6.2.0":
+"@sentry/node@6.2.0":
   version "6.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sentry/node/-/node-6.2.0.tgz#4c1860822a4a73d24242e5254124bd3bf9028d52"
   integrity sha512-02lXk+56tPA3lWTvNLMGorp77wUVti8wOs+TlYARkJ+N+16dwqEBSBTy3hCDxlxriB+qHchSIS+ovPGi6WNiYA==
@@ -3330,6 +3330,18 @@
     lru_map "^0.3.3"
     tslib "^1.9.3"
 
+"@sentry/react@6.2.0":
+  version "6.2.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sentry/react/-/react-6.2.0.tgz#bf46c38762554f246ca9dec527e6a5b3168fb0b0"
+  integrity sha512-Jf3s7om1iLpApkN26O7c3Ult3lS91ekZNC4WKtcPb6b+KOBQ36sB0d1KhL3hGZ55UKLmgZu3jn2hd7bJ9EY3yA==
+  dependencies:
+    "@sentry/browser" "6.2.0"
+    "@sentry/minimal" "6.2.0"
+    "@sentry/types" "6.2.0"
+    "@sentry/utils" "6.2.0"
+    hoist-non-react-statics "^3.3.2"
+    tslib "^1.9.3"
+
 "@sentry/tracing@6.2.0":
   version "6.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sentry/tracing/-/tracing-6.2.0.tgz#76c17e5dd3f1e61c8a4e3bd090f904a63d674765"
@@ -3341,7 +3353,7 @@
     "@sentry/utils" "6.2.0"
     tslib "^1.9.3"
 
-"@sentry/types@6.2.0", "@sentry/types@^6.2.0":
+"@sentry/types@6.2.0":
   version "6.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@sentry/types/-/types-6.2.0.tgz#ca020ff42913c6b9f88a9d0c375b5ee3965a2590"
   integrity sha512-vN4P/a+QqAuVfWFB9G3nQ7d6bgnM9jd/RLVi49owMuqvM24pv5mTQHUk2Hk4S3k7ConrHFl69E7xH6Dv5VpQnQ==
@@ -9967,25 +9979,26 @@ eslint-visitor-keys@^2.0.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/eslint-visitor-keys/-/eslint-visitor-keys-2.0.0.tgz#21fdc8fbcd9c795cc0321f0563702095751511a8"
   integrity sha512-QudtT6av5WXels9WjIM7qz1XD1cWGvX4gGXvp/zBn9nXG02D0utdU3Em2m/QjTnrsk6bBjmCygl3rmj118msQQ==
 
-eslint@7.6.0:
-  version "7.6.0"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/eslint/-/eslint-7.6.0.tgz#522d67cfaea09724d96949c70e7a0550614d64d6"
-  integrity sha512-QlAManNtqr7sozWm5TF4wIH9gmUm2hE3vNRUvyoYAa4y1l5/jxD/PQStEjBMQtCqZmSep8UxrcecI60hOpe61w==
+eslint@7.20.0:
+  version "7.20.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/eslint/-/eslint-7.20.0.tgz#db07c4ca4eda2e2316e7aa57ac7fc91ec550bdc7"
+  integrity sha512-qGi0CTcOGP2OtCQBgWZlQjcTuP0XkIpYFj25XtRTQSHC+umNnp7UMshr2G8SLsRFYDdAPFeHOsiteadmMH02Yw==
   dependencies:
-    "@babel/code-frame" "^7.0.0"
+    "@babel/code-frame" "7.12.11"
+    "@eslint/eslintrc" "^0.3.0"
     ajv "^6.10.0"
     chalk "^4.0.0"
     cross-spawn "^7.0.2"
     debug "^4.0.1"
     doctrine "^3.0.0"
     enquirer "^2.3.5"
-    eslint-scope "^5.1.0"
+    eslint-scope "^5.1.1"
     eslint-utils "^2.1.0"
-    eslint-visitor-keys "^1.3.0"
-    espree "^7.2.0"
-    esquery "^1.2.0"
+    eslint-visitor-keys "^2.0.0"
+    espree "^7.3.1"
+    esquery "^1.4.0"
     esutils "^2.0.2"
-    file-entry-cache "^5.0.1"
+    file-entry-cache "^6.0.0"
     functional-red-black-tree "^1.0.1"
     glob-parent "^5.0.0"
     globals "^12.1.0"
@@ -9996,7 +10009,7 @@ eslint@7.6.0:
     js-yaml "^3.13.1"
     json-stable-stringify-without-jsonify "^1.0.1"
     levn "^0.4.1"
-    lodash "^4.17.19"
+    lodash "^4.17.20"
     minimatch "^3.0.4"
     natural-compare "^1.4.0"
     optionator "^0.9.1"
@@ -10005,30 +10018,29 @@ eslint@7.6.0:
     semver "^7.2.1"
     strip-ansi "^6.0.0"
     strip-json-comments "^3.1.0"
-    table "^5.2.3"
+    table "^6.0.4"
     text-table "^0.2.0"
     v8-compile-cache "^2.0.3"
 
-eslint@^7.20.0:
-  version "7.20.0"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/eslint/-/eslint-7.20.0.tgz#db07c4ca4eda2e2316e7aa57ac7fc91ec550bdc7"
-  integrity sha512-qGi0CTcOGP2OtCQBgWZlQjcTuP0XkIpYFj25XtRTQSHC+umNnp7UMshr2G8SLsRFYDdAPFeHOsiteadmMH02Yw==
+eslint@7.6.0:
+  version "7.6.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/eslint/-/eslint-7.6.0.tgz#522d67cfaea09724d96949c70e7a0550614d64d6"
+  integrity sha512-QlAManNtqr7sozWm5TF4wIH9gmUm2hE3vNRUvyoYAa4y1l5/jxD/PQStEjBMQtCqZmSep8UxrcecI60hOpe61w==
   dependencies:
-    "@babel/code-frame" "7.12.11"
-    "@eslint/eslintrc" "^0.3.0"
+    "@babel/code-frame" "^7.0.0"
     ajv "^6.10.0"
     chalk "^4.0.0"
     cross-spawn "^7.0.2"
     debug "^4.0.1"
     doctrine "^3.0.0"
     enquirer "^2.3.5"
-    eslint-scope "^5.1.1"
+    eslint-scope "^5.1.0"
     eslint-utils "^2.1.0"
-    eslint-visitor-keys "^2.0.0"
-    espree "^7.3.1"
-    esquery "^1.4.0"
+    eslint-visitor-keys "^1.3.0"
+    espree "^7.2.0"
+    esquery "^1.2.0"
     esutils "^2.0.2"
-    file-entry-cache "^6.0.0"
+    file-entry-cache "^5.0.1"
     functional-red-black-tree "^1.0.1"
     glob-parent "^5.0.0"
     globals "^12.1.0"
@@ -10039,7 +10051,7 @@ eslint@^7.20.0:
     js-yaml "^3.13.1"
     json-stable-stringify-without-jsonify "^1.0.1"
     levn "^0.4.1"
-    lodash "^4.17.20"
+    lodash "^4.17.19"
     minimatch "^3.0.4"
     natural-compare "^1.4.0"
     optionator "^0.9.1"
@@ -10048,7 +10060,7 @@ eslint@^7.20.0:
     semver "^7.2.1"
     strip-ansi "^6.0.0"
     strip-json-comments "^3.1.0"
-    table "^6.0.4"
+    table "^5.2.3"
     text-table "^0.2.0"
     v8-compile-cache "^2.0.3"
 
@@ -17947,7 +17959,7 @@ rimraf@2, rimraf@2.6.3, rimraf@^2.2.8, rimraf@^2.3.4, rimraf@^2.4.3, rimraf@^2.4
   dependencies:
     glob "^7.1.3"
 
-rimraf@^3.0.0, rimraf@^3.0.1, rimraf@^3.0.2:
+rimraf@3.0.2, rimraf@^3.0.0, rimraf@^3.0.1, rimraf@^3.0.2:
   version "3.0.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/rimraf/-/rimraf-3.0.2.tgz#f1a5402ba6220ad52cc1282bac1ae3aa49fd061a"
   integrity sha512-JZkJMZkAGFFPP2YqXZXPbMlMBgsxzE8ILs4lMIX/2o0L9UBw9O/Y3o6wFw/i9YLapcUJWwqbi3kdxIPdC62TIA==