A new Fire Emblem datamine may have discovered a gap in the main timeline

Fire Emblem Engage hit the scene last week and, as usual, dataminers have been sifting through the game’s files to uncover hidden secrets. One, in particular, that seems to have gained traction focuses on the codename of the latest entry.

Based on previous datamines, it is known how Fire Emblem games follow a certain pattern when it comes to their development codenames. As explained by modder and dataminer’

Fun fact, Fire Emblem Engage is internally codenamed Iron19.

Three Houses was Iron17.

Make of this info what you will. pic.twitter.com/zghv26pPWQ

— DeathChaos (@DeathChaos25) January 20, 2023

on Twitter, Fire Emblem Engage is internally coded as “Iron19”. Where it gets interesting is the fact that the previous mainline Fire Emblem: Three Houses game is codenamed “Iron17.”

There is a numbered gap between these major entries, even if they are consecutive. This naming convention has also alone applies to the main series,

Thing is, this naming scheme is only used for mainline games, the first Fire Emblem Warriors didn't get this treatment for example.

— DeathChaos (@DeathChaos25) January 20, 2023

have different code names. Fire Emblem Warriors is said to have “not gotten that treatment” and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes apparently is.

This is correct.

— DeathChaos (@DeathChaos25) January 22, 2023

.

Of course, this raised questions about what’s going on between “Iron17” (Three Houses) and “Iron19” (Engage). There have been rumors in the past about Fire Emblem remakes, and other theories and speculation on some forums claim that “Iron18” may have been cancelled, delayed, or merged with another title. And keep in mind that there have been other Fire Emblem games have also been released over the years.