During a panel at Momocon, Nioh 2 producer and director Fumihiko Yasuda talked about the success of the game and the series.
Asked about hypothetical settings for a possible Nioh 3 and whether he would consider moving the series to Europe or maybe to China in the Three Kingdoms period.
Yasuda-san mentioned that between the first Nioh and Nioh 2 covered a lot of what is normally covered by games based in the Sengoku Era, so he is somewhat interested in other areas. For example, he is interested in Ireland and Keltic folklore and mythology. He has thought about perhaps using that as a base. The Three Kingdoms period has also been considered as a setting for a different game.
Asked further about Keltic legends, he mentioned that he loves the story of Cú Chulainn and Richard Yates, who was inspired by Keltic folklore for his work. Yasuda-san really enjoys that.
Later in the panel he was asked about the late Edo Period and the Shinsengumi. He mentioned that it’s another common setting for Japanese games and media alongside the Sengoku Era bringing Rurouni Kenshin as an example, and it is something that Yasuda-san may have an interest in tackling at some point.
Speaking of the success of NiOh 2, he mentioned that even during this troubled time he was very happy to see that a lot of fans purchased Nioh 2 and the team also sees that many play the game to completion and earn many of the trophies.
Interestingly, he also gave a shoutout to another game set in Japan coming out soon.
“At the moment we are working on the DLC for NiOh 2, and even though it’s coming a bit after Ghost of Tsushima on July 30, please look forward to it.”
Funnily, Yasuda-san revealed that he has a very big cat, and Scampuss from Nioh 2 was inspired by him.
Asked whether he’d like to go to Momocon in person (this year’s edition was digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Yasuda-san mentioned that he would love to because he thinks a year of now, after working on and finishing Nioh 2’s DLC, there may be even more for him to talk about and perhaps a new game in the future.
NiOh 2 is currently available exclusively for PS4. The first DLC titled “The Tengu’s Disciple” will release on July 30.