If the president of Acquire, Takuma Endo, gets his way, we might finally see a new Tenchu game. The last entry in the stealth series released over a decade ago, but recent remarks from Endo indicate that another entry could be possible within the next few years.
Endo spoke with Famitsu this week, revealing a bit of new information about the long-dormant series. He first discussed the "Stealth Assassin" trademark, one that was registered by Acquire in 2018. Apparently, this wasn't in preparation for a new game – rather, the trademark was about to expire and simply needed to be renewed. Stealth Assassin was the subtitle given to the first Tenchu title in the west, leading fans to speculate a reboot was in the works. Sadly, it looks like that wasn't the case.
However, Endo is still very interested in crafting a brand-new Tenchu game. Specifically, he mentions bringing it to PS5 if given the opportunity. He goes on to say that the development would be difficult, although the team could use the Stealth Assassin trademark as a launching point for the title.
Tenchu fans – I wouldn't get your hopes up. Most of the discussion sounds pretty vague, and it's unlikely we'll see a series revival any time soon. It's great to know the president of Acquire is onboard for a sequel, but it Endo's comments lead us to believe there are a lot of other moving pieces that still need to fall into place. Acquire has been busy in recent years – especially with the critically acclaimed Octopath Traveler – and it would be hard to tear the team away from such high-profile projects to work on a ten year old IP.
During the same Famitsu interview, Endo also discussed his desire to create an indies brand that will launch innovative new games with a short development cycle. Ideally, this would be an offshoot of the main Acquire team and not impact any of the studio's larger projects. Endo goes on to say he thinks the first title to come from this new brand will be available by the end of the year.