Nintendo’s next Direct presentation focuses on Fire Emblem

It might not be quite as exciting as the Switch reveal, but Nintendo’s next streaming event has news about one of the most cherished gaming franchises.

The next Nintendo Direct will take place at 2 p.m. Pacific on January 18. The event will focus on the Fire Emblem series, which features turn-based strategy gaming. Nintendo uses these Direct streams to educate its consumers on upcoming products, and fans have learned to look forward to them since they often bring announcements of new games. The last entry in the Fire Emblem series, 2016’s Fire Emblem: Fates for the 3DS, sold more than 1.84 million copies worldwide.

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We know about two future Fire Emblem games. Nintendo is working on an entry in the series for mobile, which it announced last April. In December, Nintendo released Super Mario Run for iOS, which was downloaded more than 50 million times in its first week. Fire Emblem isn’t as well-known a franchise as Mario, but it could still find success in the $36 billion mobile industry.

Nintendo also announced Fire Emblem Warriors during its Switch presentation last week. It will be a crossover of Fire Emblem and the Dynasty Warriors franchise, similar to how Hyrule Warriors used Zelda characters with the Dynasty Warriors’ real-time combat against massive waves of enemies. We’re likely to learn more about both games during the event.

Fire Emblem used to be a Japan-only series for Nintendo, but interest grew in the franchise in the U.S. after its characters Marth and Roy appeared in the roster for the fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001. The seventh entry in the series, simply called Fire Emblem in the U.S., was the first to come out here when it released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

The franchise hit a new high with 2013’s Fire Emblem: Awakening for the 3DS, which found extra acclaim for its character-focused story and innovative systems (including one that allowed the children of married army members join your fight).