IPs such as Mario, Zelda and Pokémon could soon be coming to Universal’s theme parks and resorts after the company agreed a deal with Nintendo to create rides, shows and other attractions based around the videogame developer’s top franchises.

The freshly-signed deal looks to be one of Nintendo's first steps to further expand the reach of its character franchises – something its president and CEO Satoru Iwata promised in 2014.

The deal, which will see Nintendo characters move exclusively to Universal theme parks, will use “immersive experiences,” according to a joint statement.

“Nintendo has created remarkable and imaginative worlds filled with captivating stories and beloved characters”, said the statement. “Now, for the first time, those stories and characters will be brought to life in entirely new ways – only at Universal theme parks.”

The news comes on the same day that Nintendo announced its full year financial results, beating market expectations with a profit of US$351m (€309m, £231m) – the first time the company recorded an operating profit in four years.

Universal and Nintendo will now sit down to create specific concepts, with announcements on what those will entail expected to be announced in the near future.