The six-year wait for a new Nioh game ends this week as Nioh 3 will launch on PC and as a PS5 console exclusive this Friday, February 6, 2026. If you've forgotten how well known the Nioh games are, Nioh 3's reviews are here to remind you, as the third game in the franchise has performed just as well critically as the two games that came before it.
Nioh 3 is a hit with critics
Nioh 3 has an incredible 88 on OpenCritic, equaling the original's impressive average and bettering the 85 Nioh 2 achieved. Its score is almost as strong on Metacritic where it currently holds an 86. Here at TheGamer, our own George Foster gave Nioh 3 a 4.5/5. “Consistently excellent combat, well-designed bosses, and a new mold that adds even more depth and value to already carefully crafted mechanics make Nioh 3 more than a worthy contender for Ring of Fire,” reads our review – which you can check out in full here – describing it as the best entry in the series to date.
At VGC, Dave Aubrey, formerly of TheGamer, gave Nioh 3 4/5, writing: “Nioh 3 feels like the summation of Team Ninja's efforts over the last decade. Its combat is varied and tight, much like its level design, and it's a great adventure.” Insider Gaming awarded the latest entry in the Nioh series a perfect score, noting that it is definitive proof that Team Ninja should be “recognized as not only a driving force in the Soulslike genre, but for its name to rank among the best.”
Hopefully you won't be waiting long to play Nioh 3 on other platforms
We might finally get a Nioh game on Xbox.
Nioh 3's numbers are already looking strong ahead of launch
As reassuring as it will be to see Nioh 3 score so highly, and likely convince some of you to pre-order the game ahead of launch day, the numbers its demo has racked up on Steam suggest you didn't really need convincing. The Nioh 3 demo had 39,000 concurrent players at its peak. That's just a little less than the 41,000 concurrent counts that the full version of Nioh 2 managed at its peak.
Nioh 3 is also one of the first major releases of 2026, kick-starting the triple-A market for what will be an exciting year. Wolverine, GTA 6, Fable and Resident Evil Requiem – which will be here before the end of the month – will all be released in 2026 alongside Nioh 3 if all goes according to plan.
