Back when the PlayStation stealth-action boom kicked off, one of the quieter, but still tightly held franchises on the market was Acquire's Tenchu: Stealth Assassins series. These titles saw players in the role of shadowy ninjas plying their trade throughout ancient Japan, taking down marks with an array of close-quarters skills, ranged weaponry, and even a dose of the old shinobi magic.
Despite an array of releases and a passionate fanbase, the Tenchu series has long returned to the shadows, with 2009's poorly received Tenchu: Shadow Assassins being the franchise's latest release. In a new interview, however, Acquire president Takuma Endo has suggested that the blood-splattered adventures of Rikimaru and crew are not being left to rot, and that there is a definite possibility that Tenchu could make a long-awaited return.
Speaking with Famitsu, Endo noted that Acquire had refreshed the trademark on the subtitle "Stealth Assassins" and, while this move should be viewed purely as a legal technicality, the studio is very much open to relighting Tenchu's fire on a modern platform such as the PlayStation 5. Given the recent success of titles such as Ghost of Tsushima and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, (which ironically was originally designed as a Tenchu sequel), now would be as good a time as any to return to the franchise, allowing fans to once again run the rooftops of feudal-era Japan, killing without remorse and vanishing without trace.
For now, a new Tenchu title remains merely a pipe dream, but it's comforting to know that Acquire has not forgotten about one of the forefathers of the stealth assassination genre.
Acquire president discusses potential Tenchu revival [Gematsu / Ryokutya2089]
