An unexpected but entirely welcome surprise entry at the 2025 PlayStation State of Play was the announcement of Nioh 3. While the game release has been mentioned as Early 2026, there is a limited-time demo available on PS5 till June 18th, with the promise of an exclusive in-game item for players who complete this time-limited demo.
The Nioh 3 trailer starts with a voiceover mentioning spirit stones and how they have ‘been the impetus for human wars’, before transitioning to an impressive montage of various probable boss battles showcasing different skills and weapons.
The game will now have a ‘Samurai’ style and a ‘Ninja’ style. The Samurai style seems to double down on the classical Nioh and Nioh 2 combat style with an emphasis on using deflect, parry, and martial arts. The Ninja style has been expanded from the Ninjutsu set of skills in Nioh 2, and looks to focus on a more agile gameplay, focusing on dodges and aerial attacks. Players will have the freedom to take one style and focus on that when planning their build, or do a hybrid that combines both styles.
The game will also feature a more open world, and the story will have the main protagonist as a ‘young warrior poised to become the next Shogun, who is intent on battling against yokai’.
Nioh 3 will launch on PS5 and PC; and this is one game that we are absolutely excited about – if Nioh 3 can build on the combat systems of Nioh 2 and successfully take it to a more open world setting (which the developers tried in Rise of the Ronin with mixed results), then we are in for a treat in early 2026 when the game comes out.
