Nioh Director Teases Ninja Gaiden And Ryu Hayabusa-Related Announcement

Nioh franchise director and producer Fumihiko Yasuda may have teased an upcoming announcement related to Ninja Gaiden.

Team Ninja has been widely assumed to be finally returning to the Ninja Gaiden franchise. While the developer has confirmed nothing of the sort to be in the pipelines, some clues have been offered to keep the public guessing.

Speaking with TheGamer in a recent interview, Nioh franchise director and producer Fumihiko Yasuda stated that there is “nothing to announce or note” about a potential Ninja Gaiden sequel. He however asked fans to “look forward to some potential news for some kind of announcement in the near future.”

While adding that Ryu Hayabusa “is the most important character from all of our franchises,” Yasuda added that he “would definitely like to have him make an appearance again in a game coming soon.” He refrained from sharing anything more except that details about the unannounced project will be announced “in the future, as soon as possible.”

The statements can be taken either way. Team Ninja may be working on a new Ninja Gaiden game which involves Ryu Hayabusa. The developer may also be working on a game which is related to Ninja Gaiden somehow and where Ryu Hayabusa will be making an appearance.

Microsoft was rumored last year to have obtained exclusive rights to a new Ninja Gaiden game for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The same rumor however asked fans to not expect an announcement from either Microsoft or Team Ninja anytime soon. That could change in the coming months with the start of a brand new year, or at least fans will be hoping as much to not be left hanging for more than necessary.

The last installment in the franchise was Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z back in 2014 and that too was a spin-off. The game ended up being voted as one of the worst games of all time. Team Ninja seemingly decided to put the franchise on a hiatus afterwards. It has been six long years since then and perhaps with the new consoles finally in the market, the time is ripe for the masked hack-and-slasher to return.

Saqib is a managing editor at segmentnext.com who has halted regime changes, curbed demonic invasions, and averted at least one cosmic omnicide from the confines of his gaming chair. When not whipping his writers into ...