Overview

Onimusha: Way of the Sword is a third-person single-player action game developed and published by Capcom. It is the fifth mainline entry in the Onimusha series and the first new entry in roughly two decades. The game releases on September 25, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store).

Setting

The story takes place in a dark-fantasy version of Edo-era Kyoto. This is a notable shift from previous Onimusha games, which were set in the Sengoku period. The historical capital has been corrupted by malevolent clouds of Malice, a supernatural force that is pulling the city out of the living world and bringing demonic Genma from the underworld to prey on it.

Protagonist

The player controls the legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, whose character model is based on the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune. On the verge of death after being ambushed by Genma, Musashi receives a sentient Oni Gauntlet that grants him the power to slay them.

Standalone Story

Capcom has confirmed that the game's story is not tied to previous Onimusha entries or the Netflix animated series, so new players can pick it up without having played any earlier games in the series.

Core Features

• Fully 3D exploration. The game uses a free third-person camera that follows Musashi from over the shoulder during exploration and pulls back during combat to keep multiple enemies on screen.

• Soul absorption loop. The Oni Gauntlet consumes three colours of souls dropped by defeated enemies. See Souls.

• Reactive combat. A four-tier parry toolkit built around hold-to-block, timed parry, deflect, and the signature Issen counter, with a dedicated Break Issen execution after an enemy's stamina is broken.

• Historical figures reimagined. Real people from Japanese history are folded into the cast, including Ono No Takamura and Izumo No Okuni.

• Roughly 20 hours of core gameplay, according to producer Akihito Kadowaki.

Story Hook

A sinister figure named Dokyo operates a secret underground laboratory beneath Kyoto, where he conducts experiments that create new Genma and spread Malice through the city. Musashi's path crosses with kabuki innovator Izumo No Okuni and old master swordsman Ono No Takamura, who are both searching for a way to push back against the Genma. His rival, the swordsman Sasaki Ganryu, also wears an Oni Gauntlet, which complicates every fight between them.

Development Status

The Capcom Spotlight stream on March 5, 2026 confirmed the game was in its final stages of development; Capcom later locked in a September 25, 2026 release date during a PlayStation State of Play presentation in June 2026, releasing a free playable demo at the same time. The project was greenlit in 2020 after RE Engine matured to the point it could support the combat-animation work the team wanted to do.

Release