Fans have been waiting a long time to see another entry in the series, and at long last, a new Fire Emblem game has been announced. Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave graced the end of the latest Nintendo Direct, ending the show on a high note. The last entry in the series was Fire Emblem Engage in 2023, which had a big gimmick revolving around fusing characters in battle.
Fortune's Weave doesn’t seem to have any fusion techniques. Instead, the main theme looks like it will revolve around Greek and Roman influences of gladiatorial battles in a coliseum. It’s definitely a change for the series, so let’s try to find some hidden details in the trailer.
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The System, Setting, And Release Date
How Long Before You Can Have Tactical Bliss?
All Nintendo has said so far is that the game will be released sometime in 2026 for the Switch 2. The latest Nintendo Direct seemed to focus on a lot of Spring 2026 games, so that may be an indicator, but it's not an actual fact. It will assuredly be one of the system’s biggest RPGs in 2026, if not the biggest, since fans have been aching for a new Fire Emblem entry for a few years. The developer will be Intelligent Systems, who usually handles the Fire Emblem series, so that’s not a big surprise.
While the setting is fantastical, it will also focus on gladiatorial combat situations. That probably won’t be the only fighting ground, as demonstrated in the first trailer, but it will certainly be where the game starts. There aren’t many, but there are a few good RPGs or action RPGs set in coliseums, like Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance and Gladius. So, any fans of those games will be extra excited to take a look at Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave.
The Playable Characters So Far
Four Characters, One Fate?
While there are many characters in the trailer, there is a focus on four of them. Whether they are all heroes is a mystery, but these four characters are the only ones shown to be playable in the trailer. First, there’s Cai, a young competitor in the gladiator-like battles. His class is called a Flying-Ornius Rider, which seems like a beast rider class similar to a Pegasus Knight in past entries. The Ornius looks more like a more realistic Chocobo from Final Fantasy than a majestic winged horse.
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Next, there’s Dietrich, who’s classified as a Myrmidon, which is a fancy swordfighter found in many Fire Emblem games. Dietrich looks a lot like Alucard from the Castlevania series, but this character isn’t biting anyone. There’s also Leda, whose class is called a Hunter. Hunters are kind of like bowmen in the series, but Leda looks like she has the gift of song too, like a Songstress or Dancer class.
Finally, there is Theodora, who falls into the Noble class. She looks strong in her own right, but one of her skills shown in battle has her summon an army of soldiers to attack enemies. This could be just a special attack, or characters could command squads of soldiers, which is something that both Fire Emblem and other tactical RPGs have tried before.
Taking A Peek At The UI
New Combat Mechanics
For such an early trailer, Nintendo showed off a lot of the UI for these four characters, which looks a lot like past entries. For example, characters will move on a grid and then select enemies, or a group of enemies that they want to attack. Characters can hold items and multiple weapons that they can switch between in battle. There are a lot of new terms thrown into the new UI too. Blaze Arts can be seen within the battle menus for Leda, Theodora, and Cai, and it seems like they cost HP.
For example, Leda has an attack called Song of Beasts, which summons a creature to fight for her — similar to a Pokemon game, perhaps. There are also Combat Arts, which every character has in their menus. Cai has a special action called Dismount, Leda has a Manage Gauge option, and Theodora has something called a Gambit. How these features work is a mystery, although Cai's Dismount probably means he can leave his Ornius behind.
There Is Gameplay Outside Of Battle
Exploring The World
Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the series, strayed from what the first game started with, as it allowed for more exploration options beyond just going from battle to battle. This concept was largely abandoned for decades, but was brought back to life via the 3DS remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. This NES/3DS game paved the way for ideas that would become a bigger concept in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, as players could explore their headquarters in-between missions. They could also socialize and romance with party members akin to a Persona game on a deeper level than past entries.
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Whether the socialization options reappear in Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave is anyone’s guess, but there will at least be exploration options. There’s a brief clip in the trailer that shows Cai running through a market, and that’s it. The amount of exploration options will surely be showcased at some point in 2026, leading up to the game’s release. The rest of the trailer focuses on cutscenes and turn-based tactical battles. As broad as Fire Emblem Gaiden and Three Houses got, there has never been a traditional RPG world to explore in a Fire Emblem title, similar to something like a Final Fantasy game.
Ties To Three Houses
What Role Will Sothis Have?
Every good trailer needs a stinger to keep players guessing in online forums, and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave did not disappoint. Sitting on a high throne, Sothis from Three Houses appeared, but in a more mature form. Without spoiling too much of the game’s plot, Sothis was a character that only Byleth, the main character, could see and talk to.
How Sothis will factor into Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave’s plot is yet another mystery. Also, it’s not known if Dietrich, Leda, Theodora, or Cai are set characters, or if they are player-created characters like Byleth. Could Sothis be talking to someone besides those four characters, like a player-created character? Needless to say, the next Nintendo Direct can’t come soon enough.
- Released
- 2026
- Developer(s)
- Intelligent Systems
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Franchise
- Fire Emblem
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Tactical
