Nioh 3 gets 2026 release date, and a surprise demo available today

Time of India

2 days ago

(Image via Team Ninja)
Team Ninja dropped a bombshell during Sony's recent State of Play. Nioh 3, the highly anticipated game, is now officially confirmed, and it's coming soon. The fans will not have to wait for years in order to get its first taste, as along with the release date, the team has also confirmed the surprise demo available, starting June 4, 2025.
Here is all you need to know about the officially confirmed upcoming release and how you can get a taste of it through the available Nioh 3 demo.
Nioh 3 release date
is officially confirmed, with a surprise demo now available
Nioh 3 - Announcement Trailer | PS5 Games
Mark the calendars for early 2026, as Nioh 3 is now officially heading to PC and PlayStation 5. The announcement about the release year came in with a thrilling and immediate bonus: a free alpha demo now live for players on PS stores starting June 4, 2025. The limited-time demo will offer an early look at the game's open-field mechanics and combat.
But remember, it will not stick forever. The Nioh 3 demo window will close on June 18, 2025.
Team Ninja, with this demo, explicitly wants player feedback to help shape the final product.
With Nioh 2 selling over 2.5 million copies, the expectations with Nioh 3 are sky-high. If the demo is truly worth it, the wait till 2026 will be quite brutal. But at least the players will get a chance to sharpen the blades early on.
Deadly combat styles to master in Nioh 3
Nioh 3 has introduced a very significant evolution within combat—the choice between Ninja and Samurai fighting styles.
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The Samurai style is familiar to the series veterans. It is reminiscent of the previous Nioh titles and enhances the foundation with Arts Proficiency and other new techniques like Deflect. While the former offers stronger martial arts, the latter is meant for some critical last-moment blocks, thereby intensifying the duels of close quarters.
On the other hand, the Ninja style prioritizes agility. Its focus remains on rapid dodges, ranged Ninjutsu techniques, and aerial maneuvers.
Players can use some moves like the Mist to leave the decoy clone or choose Evade for precise enemy strikes. The style will allow you to attack from safer distances and set up some devastating speed attacks. Crucially, the players can easily switch between Ninja and Samurai styles instantly (as shown in the early footage) at any point in the gameplay, making it more dynamic than it was before.
Open fields, bigger battles, multiplayer enhancements, and more
Beyond combat, exploration has undergone a major overhaul.
Nioh 3 has moved beyond the contained zones. It has introduced expansive open fields encouraging the players to explore war-torn villages, hidden dungeons, and more. The areas promise more freedom in strategy and exploration. So, expect to uncover the hidden challenges while facing formidable Yokai unexpectedly within the battles and detailed environments.
It even promises some brutal boss fights.
Nioh 3 multiplayer mode has even received some adjustments. Summon Visitor mode has returned for the targeted assistance. In terms of new, Expeditions online multiplayer mode has been designed specifically to explore open fields cooperatively with the other players. It provides a fresh option to tackle the tougher challenges together. The demo released includes a character creation feature that is still under development, but it previews deeper customization.
In short, whether you are tackling the challenges solo or along with the allies, Nioh 3 is aimed at balancing the trademark difficulty with flexibility in how the players engage with the world.