It’s been well over a decade since Ninja Gaiden fans were treated to a new, legitimate game in the popular hack-and-slash series (2012’s Ninja Gaiden 3, which lacked the leadership of original architect Tomonobu Itagaki, doesn’t count…), but the wait for a mainline Ryu Hayabusa adventure continues. In a recent interview with VGC, Nioh franchise director Fumihiko Yasuda was asked whether he had any plans for a new Ninja Gaiden title but shared the disappointing news that nothing was in the works at this time.
“[There are] no plans currently, but I’ve always wanted to make a new installment in the series, so here’s hoping for that!,” he said. Yasuda echoed that sentiment in another interview with The Gamer, noting that the franchise was still important to Team Ninja.
“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.”
Nioh fans were also given a dose of disheartening news, as Yasuda confirmed that Team Ninja wasn’t working on a third Nioh game either. While a Nioh 3 isn’t completely out of the question, the director reasoned that his team was eager to work on newer IPs.
“In terms of a sequel right now, Team Ninja would like to focus on working on new titles, so there really isn’t a plan for Nioh 3 at this point,” he explained. “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, utilise 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.”
Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition will be released on Steam on February 5. The definitive version of the action role-playing game not only includes all three DLC expansions (“The Tengu’s Disciple”, “Darkness in the Capital,” and “The First Samurai”) but various technical upgrades, such as 4K and 120 FPS support.