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"We feel this is the best game in franchise history": New Nioh 3 demo will be out with multiplayer almost as soon as 2026 hits

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By Kaan Serin published 13 December 2025

And progress rolls over in the full game

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(Image credit: Team Ninja)
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Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo's Soulslike RPG series is coming back for a third round of bloody fights and grotesque monsters with next year's Nioh 3, but before the game launches in full, we're being treated to a beefy demo almost as soon as the new year begins. What a treat.

Team Ninja head and Nioh 3 producer Fumihiko Yasuda revealed that a Nioh 3 demo is dropping on January 29, 2026, per the PlayStation Blog, just a week before the threequel comes out on Friday, February 6, 2026.

Nioh 3 - TGA 2025 Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube Nioh 3 - TGA 2025 Trailer | PS5 Games - YouTube
Watch On

"As you play through the demo, please note that the demo version's save data can be transferred to the full game," Yasuda wrote. "In addition, the demo version contains online multiplayer mode with up to three players, enabling ninjas and samurai worldwide to invite friends to experience the demo's deadly action before the game's official full version release." Early buyers will also be treated to exclusive cosmetics themed around the protagonists from Nioh and Nioh 2.

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  • Nioh 3 samurai deflects an arrow I was going to play the Nioh 3 demo for 30 minutes – I played 5 hours, and this Soulslike is blowing me away at 120 FPS
  • Key art for Nioh 3, showing the hero standing on a rocky cliff outcrop with sword in hand surrounded by spider lilies, while looking ahead at a feudal Japan castle covered in a red energy from the sky, dark growths overtaking the nearby landscape, with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame Nioh 3 is already locked in as my favorite Soulslike of 2026, feeling like Team Ninja's response to Elden Ring with its open exploration and intense yokai clashes
  • A pudgy cat stands on the player's arm in Nioh 3 and emits a warm glow, with a rickety wooden bridge in the background, cropped Nioh 3 review: "Brutal clashes across wide maps avoid retreading Elden Ring – this is all demon killer, no filler"

"We hope everyone enjoys the latest installment in the Nioh series," Yasuda continued. "With its deeply evolved open-field exploration and a playstyle that combines ninja and samurai elements, we feel this is the best game in franchise history and can't wait to see everyone's reactions once they finally get the chance to play."

The demo news followed an impressive, gory, fast-paced new trailer that debuted at The Game Awards 2025, and showed off how you can switch seamlessly between two combat styles, which you can see above.

Nioh is "not the kind of game that lives or dies on things like atmosphere or graphics," producer says – and we can thank fan feedback for bringing the brutal action RPG series "so far"

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Kaan Serin
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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