The Tenchu franchise made its debut on PlayStation back in 1998 with Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, but it’s been over 12 years since we last saw a new title on any platform. Creator Takuma Endo, who is still with developer Acquire, discussed the future of Tenchu with Weekly Famitsu. He revealed he’d like to create a successor from scratch for the PlayStation 5 console.
The closest we’ve gotten to a new Tenchu game in recent times is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, as the IP was the “original impetus for this project“. This is because developer FromSoftware still owns the rights to the Tenchu IP. Despite this, players became excited over the possibility of a new game back in 2018 when the Stealth Assassin trademark was registered by Acquire; a new game would have been a great way to celebrate the first game’s 20th anniversary. Unfortunately, Endo revealed the reason for this was the trademark had expired and needed to be renewed. However, the trademark would provide the groundwork for a new title.
Endo would like to develop a successor to the Tenchu games from scratch on the PlayStation 5, although the possibility isn’t there yet. Instead, the game Endo was due to reveal tomorrow, January 7, has been revealed a day early, although few details are currently available. Labyrinth of Zangetsu is a 3D dungeon-crawling JRPG set in medieval Japan, a world that also comes with magic and monsters. The monochromatic graphics are inspired by Japanese ink paintings, while traditional Gagaku and Noh music genres will influence the soundtrack.
After Labyrinth of Zangetsu, Endo wishes to create a new indie game brand, one that will be separate from Acquire’s main label. The purpose of the brand is to release “new and unique” games in a relatively short time. More details on this brand will be revealed later this year alongside the first title, although we got a very brief peek via an early screenshot.
Finally, Endo concluded the interview by reconfirming Gladiux is still in development. After a delay that pushed the gladiator combat title out of 2020, the PlayStation 4 game is now due to be released this year instead.
[Source: Weekly Famitsu via Ryokutya2089, Gematsu, Twininfinite]
