Tom Phillips
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Surprise! Nintendo has announced Fire Emblem Shadows, a new free-to-play smartphone game that's available right now.
Released overnight for both iOS and Android devices, Fire Emblem Shadows mixes the series' traditional tactical role-playing gameplay with social deduction elements. Which one of your team of heroes is secretly a traitor? Or will you choose the path of shadow yourself?
Fire Emblem Shadows is a surprising announcement from Nintendo, which has not launched a new smartphone game in years, since its collaboration with Pokémon Go creator Niantic back in 2021 to launch Pikmin Bloom. That said, Nintendo's previous Fire Emblem Heroes mobile game was incredibly lucrative — launched in 2017 with gacha-powered gameplay, it earned over $650 million in three years — so a fresh spin-off would make sense.
"Choose light or shadow, then engage in strategic combat featuring two disciples of light and one disciple of shadow," reads the game's blurb. "After an initial battle, players vote to determine who they believe is the treacherous disciple of shadow. Whether the disciples of light can correctly discover the traitor — or the disciple of shadow can successfully deceive the others — will dictate how the next battle unfolds. Expect the unexpected and be wary of enemies and allies alike."
Artwork shows light and shadow versions of familiar characters such as Lyn, who is available during the game's launch season and will be unlocked faster if you upgrade to a premium version of the game's first battle pass.
If you fancy giving it a go, you can get the download started from the iPhone App Store or Google Play now.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social