Tenchu Could Get A Revival

The stealth-action series Tenchu could get a revival. Acquire president Takuma Endo said the company is not planning a new game in the immediate future, but he would like to make a new one if the opportunity presents itself.

Gematsu reports that the Japanese magazine Famitsu features an interview with Endo, who said that the company registered the "Stealth Assassin" trademark in 2018 because it had expired. That trademark is said to lay the groundwork for a new Tenchu if the company chooses to pursue it, which he'd like to build from the ground up for the PlayStation 5 generation.

Elsewhere in the interview, Endo said he'd like to launch a new indies brand for smaller titles, distinct from the main Acquire brand. That could begin rolling out games by the end of 2021.

Tenchu began life on the original PlayStation, and continued for years after across multiple platforms. But it's been dormant for more than a decade now, its last release having been Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for Wii and PSP in 2009.

While it's been years since a new Tenchu game has released, fans have gravitated toward other period-appropriate games with stealth-action elements, like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Ghost of Tsushima, as spiritual successors. Sekiro was GameSpot's Game of the Year 2019, showing there's still a healthy appetite for the genre.