Gamers may not need a PS5 to play Nioh 3 after all, as it could jump ship to Xbox before the year is over. Koei Tecmo's samurai combat Soulslike series has garnered a devoted following with its first two releases, so hype was high when it unveiled a third. Even more excitingly, Nioh 3 will only be a PS5 console exclusive for a limited time, so Xbox users won't need to wait long to try it out.
Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja announced Nioh 3 during the June 2025 State of Play, revealing the addition of a new combat style and, to fans' delight, a free demo. While that trial was only available for PlayStation 5, the game is set to release on both PS5 and PC at launch, as has been the case with many recent Sony titles. Now, though, fans have noticed an easy-to-overlook but crucial detail confirming that Nioh 3's console exclusivity will be shorter-lived than many had expected.
Hands-On with Nioh 3: Dual Playstyles, Tough Bosses, and Tense Moments
After 3 hours with Nioh 3, it's already locked itself into my personal list of most anticipated games for 2026 thanks to its strong action gameplay.
Nioh 3 Is Only a PS5 Console Exclusive for 6 Months
A new PlayStation teaser showing off Nioh 3's PS5-specific features somewhat ironically confirmed that the game won't be a PS5 console exclusive for all of 2026. At the end of the video, a blue graphic promotes the game as a PS5 exclusive, but it also carries an asterisk. The fine print explains that the title is available on both PS5 and PC, but more importantly, that it's not on other consoles "for at least 6 months" after its release date, suggesting it could come to Xbox or Switch 2 once that time is up. PlayStation users get the luxury of playing the game first, especially because Nioh 3 is playable on PS5 early, thanks to a free demo, but other users could theoretically get their turn as early as Fall 2026.
The subtle reveal may not come as a huge surprise, given how both Xbox and Sony have moved away from console exclusivity lately, but the timeline should be a welcome update for fans. Some regard Nioh 2 as one of the best Soulslikes around today, and the first two games in the series have never been available on non-PlayStation consoles. It's uncertain if ports of the older Nioh games will make their way to competitors' systems after Nioh 3, but the possibility of the new one losing its exclusivity is a positive sign nonetheless.
While the Nioh 3 PS5 features trailer doesn't specify what other consoles it could come to, Xbox Series X and S seem like the most likely candidates. Nintendo has not shared Sony and Microsoft's enthusiasm for moving beyond platform exclusives, and the Switch 2's unique hardware means development and performance always translate evenly between the hybrid console and other systems. Given those obstacles, fans typically see fewer AAA games from other platforms come to Nintendo hardware, although Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is coming to both Switch 2 and Xbox, so there is precedent for big PS5 games coming to the console.
There's no guarantee that Nioh 3 will come to Xbox or other platforms right at the six-month mark, but such a short exclusivity window seems to hint that Team Ninja wants to bring the game to other systems before too long. This isn't the first timed PS5 exclusive, and others typically have a longer PlayStation-only period, as seen in Phantom Blade Zero being a PS5 exclusive for 12 months, so it's hard not to get excited. Fans will need to wait for official word from Koei Tecmo to know for sure, but that wait may not end up being long.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- February 6, 2026
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Koei Tecmo
- Publisher(s)
- Koei Tecmo
