4Gamer‘s compilation of Japanese game creator aspirations for 2021 featured quotes from a lot of key staff members from Koei Tecmo. Some of the highlights from the company included Fumihiko Yasuda teasing multiple new games by Team Ninja, which will be revealed in 2021, and Keisuke Kikuchi promising to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Fatal Frame.
The following comments came from Koei Tecmo staff members who mentioned plans for 2021. We have translated them as follows:
Fumihiko Yasuda — Head of the Team Ninja brand, previously worked on Nioh and Ninja Gaiden series.
In February, we will release Nioh 2 Remastered: Complete Edition and The Nioh Collection—[the latter] containing everything from the Nioh series—for the PlayStation 5. I hope this can be an opportunity for people who had and had not played them to see how Nioh plays like on a new generation console.
We are also preparing multiple announcements of new titles from Team Ninja in 2021, so please look forward to them!
The PlayStation 5 versions of Nioh and Nioh 2 will be released on February 5, 2020. Yasuda also mentioned in Famitsu that the development of the Nioh series had settled down as Team Ninja shifted its focus to the new games.
Junzo Hosoi — Head of Gust brand, previously worked on Blue Reflection and the Atelier series.
We are eagerly proceeding with preparations to announce various titles in 2021 too. Please look forward to the Gust brand in 2021 as well!
Gust released an RPG adaptation of Fairy Tail in July 2020 and Atelier Ryza 2 in December 2020 in Japan. Although the former was released simultaneously worldwide, the latter will be available in the West in late January 2021.
Keisuke Kikuchi — Currently in Gust, previously worked on Fatal Frame, Deception, and Nights of Azure series.
We are currently developing several new games, and I hope for a pace where we can announce them from Spring to Summer. I’d like to carefully create them one by one while pouring my feelings into them.
Also, 2021 will be the 20th year of Fatal Frame, so I am wondering on whether we can celebrate it with something as a way of saying thanks.
Keisuke Kikuchi was the producer of Fatal Frame, a survival horror game released by Tecmo for PlayStation 2 in December 2001 in Japan and subsequently brought to the West in 2002.
Akihiro Suzuki — Currently in Omega Force, working on the Dynasty Warriors series.
At the Dynasty Warriors 20th Anniversary stream in 2020, we announced 2 new titles: Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires and a mobile version of Dynasty Warriors. These 2 games are our challenges on new hardware, such as smartphones and next-generation consoles. We’ll do our best so that both titles can be released in 2021 and played by even more customers.
I apologize for not releasing information after the initial reveal. We are currently preparing to deliver more information as soon as possible. Please kindly keep on supporting us.
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires is currently slated for release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC in early 2021.
Hisashi Koinuma — Company president of Koei Tecmo Games and head of the Entertainment division, previously worked on Samurai Warriors and Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage series.
We were somehow able to release new titles in 2020, despite the hectic situation with the coronavirus pandemic. We still can’t settle down yet, as we will also release a lot of titles that will please everyone in 2021, so please look forward to Koei Tecmo Games.
Koinuma recently launched a mobile port of Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage for Android and iOS devices in Japan on December 14, 2020.
Yasunori Sakuda — Currently working on Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation
Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation reached its third anniversary in November 2020. Thank you very much. It was a hectic year due to changes in lifestyle and development organization from the coronavirus pandemic, but we are able to continue managing it until now thanks to all Owners and staff that cooperated with me.
I’ll do my best to be able to deliver “new cute things” in 2021 as well. To those starving for a liberating summer, a “vacation at home” awaits you on a southern island!
Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation is immediately available for PCs in Japan and Asia. The Japanese client recently added Loberia as a brand-new character.
Mei Erikawa — Head of the Ruby Party brand, which handles the Neoromance otome games
La Corda d’Oro: Starlight Orchestra and Angelique Luminarise will be released in 2021. Although both titles come from their respective long-running series, we are doing a new step of challenges with them. We will make sure the content can be enjoyed by both long-time fans and newcomers, so please look forward to them!
Angelique Luminarise will be released for Nintendo Switch in Japan on May 20, 2021. La Corda d’Oro: Starlight Orchestra is currently under development for Android and iOS mobile devices.
Kou Shibusawa — General Producer of Koei Tecmo Games and President of Koei Tecmo Holdings
2021 will be my 40th anniversary as Kou Shibusawa. I’m able to continue developing games thanks to shouts of encouragement from everyone. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Let’s play again this year!
Kenichi Ogasawara — Head of the Kou Shibusawa brand; previously worked on Toukiden, Dragon Quest Heroes, and Persona 5 Strikers at Omega Force.
I pray for the new year to be one in which people renew their hopes for the future with the Tokyo Olympics. And 2021 will be the memorial year for Kou Shibusawa’s 40th anniversary! This is a moment that must be “celebrated,” and we are preparing a suitable title for that. So, please kindly look forward to it!
Shibusawa, the founder of Koei, is well-known for creating the Nobunaga’s Ambition strategy game series. Kenichi Ogasawara previously helped to develop the 2013 game Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence.
