Nioh 2 release date announced, special editions revealed, new open beta goes live this week

Hello everyone I’m Fumihiko Yasuda, the producer for Nioh 2. I’d like to share some incredibly exciting news with you all!

Nioh 2’s release date

First and foremost, I’m happy to finally announce our launch date of 13th March, 2020.

I know many of you have been waiting and we thank you for your patience while we worked to set an official date. One of the primary reasons for not rushing to set a launch date was to ensure that we can achieve a “genuine evolution” from Nioh, which to us meant that we needed to bring in fresh new elements while retaining the things that we felt was right from the first game. Although there weren’t enough significant changes in the Alpha, we now feel that we have come much closer to reaching our goals.

Details on the open beta trial

With that being said, we would also like to give you guys a sneak peek at the game by releasing an open beta demo for you to try out. This open beta trial will be available from 1st – 10th November and is downloadable from PlayStation Store.

All players will be able to experience new elements such as our extensive character customisation feature, our newest weapon- the Switchglaive, and so much more.

As you begin the beta, you will enter into a place called the Interim. Unlike the dojo tutorial from the previous game, the Interim is a safe zone where you will be able to choose your weapons, test out the basic moves and transition to a real stage when you are ready.

This place was designed and based on the Tibetan Buddhist concept of intermediate, transitional state between life and death. I’m actually very fond of the environment we created which is modeled after the Sanzu river surrounded in tranquility (similar to the river Styx from Greek mythology).

As you move on from the Interim, you will start your journey in a stage called Sunomata. This stage is based on the Sunomata castle which by some accounts was constructed in just one night by Hideyoshi. The experience will be an interpretation of historical actualities combined with a healthy injection of Yokai adventure!

In addition, this new stage will treat you to an impressive environment covered in autumn maple leaves. In a similar fashion to the cherry blossoms stage (The Village of Cursed Blossoms), we had the great fortune of highlighting another stunning time of year within Japan’s four distinct seasons.

I hope that you will enjoy this stage and the open beta in November. If you are skilled and fortunate enough to conquer the beta, you will earn The Mark of the Demon Slayer – a reward entitling you to unlock the Kamaitachi Helmet from the in-game Shrine to use in the full game when it arrives next year.

Although the trial time is limited, we sincerely hope that you can play the beta and provide your invaluable feedback to us by responding to the survey*.

Special, Digital Deluxe and standard editions

Also from today you will be able to pre-order Nioh 2 from PlayStation Store, which is available as both as standard and Digital Deluxe editions. At retail, you’ll also be able to pre-order the Special Edition.

Regardless of what version you pre-order, you’ll be awarded valuable bonus items to use in the final game as well as an Avatar set and exclusive PS4 Theme. In the digital versions, you’ll receive these as separate download items when the game launches. A download voucher will be included in the Special Edition.

• Demon Horde armour set
• Sudama Netsuke charm
• PS4 Theme.
• PSN avatar set for PS4

If you pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition, you’ll also receive:

• Season Pass (redeemable on PlayStation Store with enclosed voucher code)
• Demon Horde weapons
• Kodama Netsuke charm

While the physical Special Edition will include:

• SteelBook case
• Art book.
• Season Pass (redeemable on PlayStation Store with enclosed voucher code)

Play Nioh on PS Plus

For those of you who are new to Nioh, and want to discover the world around it, the original game will be available for free to PlayStation Plus members on 5th November. As for the seasoned veterans, kindly guide the newcomers with your battle hardened skills.

As the development enters into its final phase, we will be busy with debug, rebalance, debug, rebalance… All kidding aside, I’m anxious for you guys to play the Beta and we very much look forward to your feedback so that we can properly finalize Nioh 2. Thank you for your support!

*Survey goes live on Friday 1st November

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