We’re about to see a new entry in the Nioh series, with Nioh 3 debuting early next year. It’s yet another big title from Team Ninja, which recently released Ninja Gaiden 4 and is preparing Fatal Frame II Remake. To learn more about its development and new additions, Siliconera spoke with Development Producer and Head of Team Ninja Fumohiko Yasuda and Director and Project Manager Kohei Shibata about the game.
When did development on Nioh 3 start? Did you know you’d be getting a third entry when developing Nioh 2, to help lay plot threads and prepare?
Fumohiko Yasuda: Development on Nioh 3 started after we completed the DLC for Nioh 2, so that was around 2021. When we were making Nioh 2, we actually didn’t have any plans for making Nioh 3 because with Nioh 2, we pretty much told the story that we wanted to tell with the game. But after we finished the DLC, some of the dev team came up with the idea for Nioh 3, and we all really liked the new ideas of what could be added to the game, so we started development not too long after.
What led the team to deciding Nioh 3 would be the entry that would be a direct sequel, and how did waiting until after the Nioh 2 prequel help enhance the story and gameplay as a result?
Yasuda: Between Nioh and Nioh 2, there were only like two to three years between games, but at that time, even though we were able to evolve the actions, I think overall, in terms of the gameplay experience, there wasn’t a huge change between Nioh and Nioh 2. For Nioh 3, we felt like we wanted to do something else, we wanted to go beyond just evolving the action, we wanted to add something new to the game. So when we came up with the proposal for Nioh 3, these new ideas came straight from the Nioh development team, and this is where we came up with not only the ninja action, but also the direction of having the open field. I thought these were great additions to the series. But when we came up with these ideas, I was actually already working on Rise of the Ronin, so we also took some of our experience from working on Rise of the Ronin, especially when it comes to the open field, and used those experiences to help make Nioh 3 better. The development of Ninja Gaiden 4 was also going on at the same time, so that also had a positive effect on the ninja style. With these aspects and the experience our team was able to gain after the development of Nioh 2, I thought we’d be able to meet all of our players’ expectations for Nioh 3.
Nioh 3 follows a more defined character named Tokugawa Takechiyo, much like the original Nioh had William Adams, while Nioh 2 featured an original character. How did that affect the narrative and what sorts of benefits and challenges come from it?
Shibata: For Nioh 3, what we wanted to do was use a character where we could show the growth of that character throughout the game. Having a character who was based on a historical figure, we were able to have the background information and knowledge of his story as well as how this character kind of came about. We were able to use that as part of this character’s development. In history, there is a record that Takechiyo was actually up against his younger brother, Kunimatsu, and we thought that would be an excellent story point to also include in this game. I think having that reference and being able to show Takechiyo and how he starts, kind of fresh and green, and then how he evolves into becoming shogun, that really fit into what we wanted to do with Nioh 3. We thought it was a great match to have Takechiyo as the main character. It just happened that when we thought about the story and what we wanted to show, it was a match to have a character that was based on history. It wasn’t something that we definitely wanted to do at first, but it’s something that seemed to just fall into place perfectly the more we researched it.
In Nioh 3, we can choose between Samurai and the new Ninja playstyles. What led to the development of this new style?
Shibata: We definitely wanted to have something different when it came to the action. From Nioh to Nioh 2 we included the Yokai shift, but we also wanted to include something that helped evolve the action and battle system as well. When we thought about what we wanted to do for Nioh 3, we also wanted to include something where visually, it was something that not only looked different but felt different when you were playing the game. We knew we wanted to keep the samurai style, as that’s something that’s traditionally been in the game and it is very popular, and it’s one of the game’s core elements, so when we thought about what we could also include in this game we thought about the Japanese theme of the game and what is well known culturally in terms of a warrior or fighting character. What would work out? Naturally, we thought ninjas. Not only are they fitting in this Japanese world, but they are known worldwide. People know ninjas. People love ninjas. So we thought it would be a perfect fit. It also gave us the great idea to give players something different than the samurai style. Samurai are grounded in their fighting style, more solid, powerful attacks. But when incorporating the ninjas, you have the speed of the ninjas and they’re known for having trickier moves in the form of ninjitsu. So we thought we could create a nice contrast in the two action styles, so that’s what led us to introducing the new ninja style.
Guardian Spirit transformations return in Nioh 3. What can we expect from this installment’s options, especially given the new Ninja style?
Shibata: So much of the Guardian Spirit transformations will work similar to the previous Nioh games in terms of being able to provide you with certain skills or certain action elements…those are continuing on in this game as well. Compared to previous games, we made it much more easier to bring the Guardian Spirits out to do the transformations and also made it easier to use. With the samurai and ninja styles, each of them will have the Guardian Spirits and the way they will be used will be different as well. I think players will be able to see that difference depending on what style they are playing with.
Yasuda: And just to add on to that, the ninja style and samurai style might have the same Guardian Spirit, but they will have a different action set. So from an action perspective, there’s a lot more that you can do and it makes for a stronger combination. With the different play styles, you just have a lot more that you can do with the Guardian Spirits, making the game a lot deeper with the variety you now have.
Earlier in 2025, a Nioh 3 limited-time demo appeared. What was the feedback like from that, and can you share one or two things you did decide to address and change as a result of the response?
Shibata: In terms of the reaction to the alpha demo, we received a lot of positive feedback which is definitely good to hear. We had this new challenge of adding the ninja style and the open field aspect, so we were a little bit worried about how people would react, but overall it was very positive so we were relieved to hear that people enjoyed that. We weren’t sure that people would accept, or even become comfortable with the ninja style, and we weren’t sure if people would end up preferring one over the other, but we found that people really enjoyed being able to play as both styles and that was something we were aiming for.
From the feedback we received, we did make some changes to the game. In the demo, you could switch the styles but we didn’t include being able to switch the weapons in the alpha demo, but we heard a lot of feedback from fans that they wanted to switch the weapons as well, so we wanted to incorporate that. In terms of controls, we have the style shift where you can switch between samurai and ninja, and the way about bringing about the Guardian Spirits and those moves, and we kind of changed how you can use those controls. We had a lot of feedback that players wanted the same kind of play feel as Nioh 2, so we added it as an option. So now, if you prefer the Nioh 2 play style of the controls, there is an option to incorporate that.
It feels like each Nioh game so far added new sorts of elements and concepts, such as the original, half-yokai protagonist in the second game and the Ninja style in Nioh 3. If you had any sort of freedom or opportunity, what would you like to consider for a fourth game?
Yasuda: I think we’ve exhausted all of our ideas, so if you have any ideas, please let me know. [laughs] All joking aside, one of the key elements to the Nioh series is the katana sword action as well as having the intense battles against the yokai. Those are two elements we don’t ever want to change about the game. When it comes to new ideas and new elements, once we finish the DLC for Nioh 3 we might start coming up with some ideas, but for right now, we’re really focused on finishing Nioh 3. We don’t want to think about Nioh 4 until we have a positive reaction to Nioh 3 and we hear that people really are looking forward to Nioh 4. We’re still concentrating on getting Nioh 3 out. Once we’re finished with the full development of Nioh 3, that’s when we’ll start thinking about what we’d like to do with Nioh 4
So far, Nioh remains a PlayStation and PC exclusive series, but how would you feel about it eventually showing up on a system like the Switch 2?
Yasuda: We’re not really so sure. We know the game would have its challenges, and at this time, we don’t have any specific thoughts or comments about Nioh on Switch 2.
Nioh 3 will come to the PS5 and PC on February 6, 2026.