Report: Team Ninja making a Final Fantasy ‘Souls-like’ action game

Nioh and Ninja Gaiden developer Team Ninja is developing a new Final Fantasy spinoff action game for Square Enix, according to a report from Fanbyte. That game, reportedly titled Final Fantasy Origin, is expected to be announced in June in conjunction with E3 2021. Square Enix is confirmed to appear at this year’s E3.

Fanbyte’s report follows a series of rumors regarding Final Fantasy Origin, which has been compared to FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series and Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The Final Fantasy spinoff is said to be “more accessible [than Nioh] for a wider audience” and set during the events of the first game in the franchise. Origin is reportedly bound for PlayStation 5, with a Windows PC version coming later.

Another component of the rumor surrounding Final Fantasy Origin is that Team Ninja will release a playable demo of the game this summer to solicit feedback from players. The studio similarly released “alpha” demos of Nioh and Nioh 2 ahead of each game’s final product.

Team Ninja and Square Enix already have a close working relationship, thanks to the former’s work on Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, a fighting game featuring characters plucked from the wider Final Fantasy franchise. That game features two characters based on the original Final Fantasy, the Warrior of Light (pictured above) and Garland.

Square Enix previously released a game under the name Final Fantasy Origins. Released for the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy Origins compiled the first two games in the franchise in remastered form.