What is the Nioh 3 release date? Grab your Spirit Stones, brush up on your combat arts, and prepare to take on powerful yokai once more. After half a decade without a new Nioh installment, Team Ninja has finally returned to the iconic ARPG series.
RPG sequel, including its release date window, latest trailers, and more.
Nioh 3 release date window
Nioh 3 is slated to release in "early 2026," as confirmed in its initial announcement trailer. Nioh 3 will launch on PC via Steam and PlayStation 5, making it the first game in the series to arrive on PC on day one.
Nioh 3's announcement trailer was showcased at the June 2025 PlayStation State of Play event. Considering the game should arrive within the next year, that's a marked improvement over the wait fans had on their hands between Nioh 2's E3 2018 reveal and its eventual release in March 2020.
Nioh 3 demo
Alongside the announcement trailer, Team Ninja dropped a surprise limited-time Nioh 3 demo available to PS5 players only. The demo takes roughly two hours to clear, and you've got until June 18, 2025, to get the job done.
The Nioh 3 demo itself gives you a proper chance to experience the new open world format, take on yokai, and acclimate to switching between its Samurai and Ninja combat styles. You'll also get to test out the new character creator. To sweeten the deal further, clearing the demo will grant you a free helmet that carries over into the final game.
Nioh 3 trailer
We've only been treated to a single Nioh 3 trailer so far – the announcement trailer. The trailer reintroduces us to the central tenets of its world: spirit stones, yokai, and the series' punishing combat loop. On top of that, we also get an initial glimpse at the two different fighting styles you can instantly switch between: Samurai and Ninja, including various combos and vertical feats you can pull off.
Nioh 3 gameplay
Nioh 3 revolves around Tokugawa Takechiyo (Ieyasu's birthname) as he cleaves through yokai en route to becoming Shogun. Unlike his protagonist predecessors, Takechiyo has a few extra tricks up his sleeve, namely his two instantly interchangeable combat styles, Samurai and Ninja.
When in Samurai mode, Takechiyo has a similar moveset to that found in the first two games. There are two new mechanics here, though. Arts Proficiency enhances martial art power, while the ability to deflect attacks has also been added.
Ninja, meanwhile, makes Takechiyo more frenetic, particularly when it comes to dodging and executing aerial actions. His plethora of ninjitsu skills, including Mist and Evade, ensures you can stay well out of trouble and pick your moment to strike strategically.
You'll have plenty of space to test out all of these new techniques in Nioh 3's open world – a series first. While the jury's out on whether it'll be interesting enough to merit the switch-up from the series' traditional mission structure, Team Ninja promises "unexpected encounters with formidable yokai, suspicious villages riddled in violent secrets," and the "daunting challenges" found within The Crucible.
And that's everything we know about the Nioh 3 release date so far. 2026 will be here before you know it, and we'd recommend priming yourself with some of the other challenging ARPGs out there, including the best soulslike games that'll get your reflexes up to snuff.