The regular broadcast featuring new projects, State of Play, brought viewers a lot of interesting news, including the announcement of the third installment of the dark samurai RPG, Nioh. As it became known, the release of Nioh 3 is scheduled for early 2026, but the demo version is already available to play.

Official announcement

As part of State of Play, developers from Team Ninja officially announced the third installment of Nioh. According to the plot, the main character in the new game will be a young warrior who is destined to become the next shogun and is also engaged in the destruction of yokai. Although the developers have not yet revealed the main character's story, the gameplay features have been announced.

According to Team Ninja representatives, Nioh 3 will offer players two combat mechanics options: samurai style and ninja style. They will differ in gameplay, and players can switch between the two at any time.

• The samurai style provides a gaming experience similar to previous games in the Nioh series. New actions have been added, such as “Mastery of Arts,” which increases the power of martial arts, and “Parry,” which allows players to block enemy attacks at the last moment, helping to create a series of intense and deadly face-to-face confrontations.

• The ninja style is characterized by quick movements such as dodging and aerial actions, giving ninjas the advantage of attacking from beyond the enemy's reach, using a variety of “ninjutsu” techniques according to the situation on the battlefield. Players have the ability to use techniques such as “Mist,” which leaves a clone behind after an attack, and “Dodge,” which allows them to narrowly avoid enemy strikes. Both techniques help players bypass enemies, delivering devastating quick strikes from behind.

But the developers have said that you don't have to mix these styles. You can totally play the game using only ninja or samurai techniques separately.

Release date and free demo

The exact release date for Nioh 3 has not yet been announced, but at the end of the trailer, you can see the words “Early 2026,” hinting that the game will be released in the first quarter of 2026.

However, to make the wait for the upcoming game less painful for players, the developers are launching a demo version. As it became known, the demo of the game will be available from today until June 18. During this time, players can not only be the first to enjoy a part of the game that the developers have been creating for the past few years, but also provide feedback to the company, which promises to take all wishes and complaints into account.

Finally, the developers also announced that the game will feature a character creation function, which was popular with players in Nioh 2, but it is still in the testing stage, so it is unknown whether it will be available in the demo version.