Nioh director: No current plans for Nioh 3, but hopes to return to series in the future; Ninja Gaiden news coming soon

There are currently no plans to make a “Nioh 3,” but Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda would like to return to the series at some point in the future, he told The Gamer in a newly published interview.

Possibility of a Nioh 3

“In terms of a sequel right now, [Nioh series developer] Team Ninja would like to focus on working on new titles, so there really isn’t a plan for Nioh 3 at this point,” Yasuda said. “But after creating some new projects and gaining some new experience and skills from those new potential projects, I would like to go back to the series at some point, utilize all the experience and new skills that we gain from some new projects, and then potentially, go back into the series at that point, and create an even greater game to surpass Nioh and Nioh 2 and to create something even better.”

The Nioh series is currently only available on PlayStation 4 and PC, and will be available for PlayStation 5 with the Nioh Collection due out alongside the PC version of Nioh 2 on February 5. But the series is not available on Xbox, and there are no current plans to bring it to the platform, Yasuda told Video Games Chronicle.

“There are no current plans for the Nioh series to be on Xbox consoles at this point,” Yasuda said with a laugh, “but of course the Ninja Gaiden series has had a long history on Microsoft’s consoles. So if there was to be a new title in the Ninja Gaiden series in the future, we’d definitely like that to be on Xbox consoles.”

It should be noted that PlayStation manufacturer Sony Interactive Entertainment is the publisher of the Nioh series in North America and Europe, and was in charge of QA testing, worldwide localization and marketing, and other areas.

Ninja Gaiden News Coming Soon

Speaking of the Ninja Gaiden series, Yasuda told The Gamer to look out for news regarding the series in the “near future.”

“Nothing to announce or note specifically this time, but if the Ninja Gaiden series hadn’t existed, then there wouldn’t have been a Nioh series,” Yasuda said. “So that’s a really important series to Team Ninja. While we don’t have anything specific to announce at this time, I would like to say just look forward to some potential news for some kind of announcement in the near future.”

The developer again teased Ninja Gaiden when asked about series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa.

“Yeah, so that character is the most important character from all of our franchises,” Yasuda said. “So, considering he’s so important, I would definitely like to have him make an appearance again in a game coming soon, and I would like to announce details about that in the future, as soon as possible.”

Back in September 2020, Hong Kong distributor Game Source Entertainment listed and removed a “Ninja Gaiden Trilogy” for PlayStation 4 and Switch. According to the description, it includes Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge. Publisher Koei Tecmo has yet to comment on or confirm the accuracy of the listing.

Next-Generation Consoles

Yasuda also touched upon the newest generation of consoles, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. Having already worked on PlayStation 5 with the upcoming release of Nioh Collection, Yasuda cited improvements with the SSD and faster load times as notable upgrades. “I would like to try and take on an open-world style game in the future,” he said. “So that’s definitely something that I think this new hardware will give us the ability to try out.”

Speaking to Video Game Chronicle, Yasuda added, “Team Ninja as a whole would specifically like to take on the open world genre. But we feel at this point that there haven’t really been open world games with a lot of intensity, which are really action-packed from beginning to end. So we’d like to actually take that on as a potential challenge in the future, and try to put a new spin on the open world genre in that regard.”

Nioh Collection, as well as Nioh Remastered – Complete Edition and Nioh 2 Remastered – Complete Edition, are due out for PlayStation 5 on February 5 worldwide. Owners of Nioh or Nioh 2 for PlayStation 4 will receive a free upgrade to the Remastered version.