Early copies of the upcoming Nintendo game,Fire Emblem Engage, are already out in the wild. The game is currently set to be released on January 20, but fans who got a hold of it early are already posting spoilers.Fire Emblem Engageis the latest in a series of pre-release leaks that Nintendo has had to contend with over the past year.
In September 2022,Nintendo officially unveiledFire Emblem Engage,the latest entry in the long-running franchise. The first game was released all the way back in 1990 in Japan for the Nintendo Famicon. The franchise did not see an official release in the United States until 2003 with the release ofFire Emblem, also known asFire Emblem: The Blazing Blade,for the Game Boy Advanced. Since then, the games have seen numerous releases, with the latest beingFire Emblem: Three Housesfor the Nintendo Switch. Now it appears the franchise’s latest installment,Engage, has been leaked early.
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Over the past year, Nintendo has had to deal with a number of high-profile leaks of its biggest releases.Pokemon Scarlett and Violetrecently had its DLC plansfind their way online, making it the latest in a series of high-profile franchise spoilers that hit the internet before intended. The newFire Emblem Engagereveals can be seen on specific threads that gamers are using to discuss the story, maps, characters, and such. The pages themselves, however, start with spoiler warnings in case any fans wish to go into the game knowing as little as possible.
This isn’t the first time Nintendo has had to deal with leaks regarding the game. In July 2022, early screenshots ofFire Emblem Engagefound their way onlinewell before the game was officially unveiled and turned out to be the real deal. The year before, another leak revealed that, at one point, aFire Emblemdeveloper was working on aMetroidgame several years earlier. More recently,Xenoblade Chronicles 3leaked early online as well with some actually getting it to work on the Steam Deck. Regardless of whether these various stories turn out to be true, it’s clear that Nintendo may need better security.
Despite the fact that theFire Emblemfranchise is always present in Nintendo spheres, the games struggled to find a consistent audience. The 2012 game,Fire Emblem: Awakening, was originally intended to be the series' final installment, but its sales numbers ended up reviving the franchise. Since then, the main entries have consistently sold well.Fire Emblem: Three Houseshad one of the most praised video game stories of 2019, and the property doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Hopefully, in the future, Nintendo can avoid any early spoilers for the game.
