Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Was Almost Part of the Tenchu Series

WhenSekiro: Shadows Die Twicewasfirst teased at The Game Awards in 2017, many thought that the brief new video that was shown was teasing eitherBloodborne 2or a newTenchugame, a series that FromSoftware had worked on in the past. Heck,we thought it was for sureTenchuourselves when we first saw it as well. Months later at E3 2018, Fromrevealed that the game was instead an entirely new IP calledSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceand while it surprised some that it didn’t belong to any previously existing franchises, this wasn’t always what was planned.

In a new conversation with Variety, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki said that they initially thought about makingSekiropart of theTechufranchise. “A lot of influence came fromTenchu,” Miyazaki said of the early stages ofSekiro’sdevelopment. “We even pondered upon makingSekiro: Shadows Die Twicea part of theTenchuseries at first."

Miyazaki went on to say though that after more time, they decided it would be better ifSekirowas its own property, though he still acknowledged thatTenchuas a whole was one of the primary inspirations behind the game. “Of course, after that we researched and referenced many other games as well; however, I think the largest influence was fromTenchu,” Miyazaki said. This lines up withwhat From told us as well last yearabout howSekiroevolved over time to be a completely different game.

As of now, it has been 10 years since the release of the lastTenchugame–Tenchu: Shadow Assassins–and while fans of the series are surely hoping that it will one day see a revival, it’s good to know that FromSoftware still looks back on the series fondly. If a spiritual successor of sorts inSekiroisn’t good enough for you, then maybe one day From or someone else will finally bring it back.

In the meantime,Sekiro: Shadows Die Twiceis slated to launch next Friday, March 22, for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.