Some three years after it was announced an unnamed developer was taking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a darker video game direction with a project inspired by the well-regarded TMNT graphic novel The Last Ronin, the game has finally – albeit vaguely – been unveiled. And it turns out the mysterious team behind it is none other than famed Bayonetta, Nier: Automata, and Ninja Gaiden 4 developer Platinum Games.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin is described as a “AAA action-adventure” that follows the last surviving Ninja Turtle as he “embarks on a seemingly hopeless mission seeking justice for the family he lost.” And, um, that’s pretty much all we know. Paramount has, however, released a suitably moody teaser trailer to accompany the announcement – although it does, admittedly, lose quite a lot of its brooding energy when a perky electric guitar rendition of the old Turtles theme kicks in halfway through.
The original graphic novel version of The Last Ronin, released in 2020, follows the titular Turtle – whose true identity is only revealed at the end of the book – as he prowls a grim future version of New York City where his three half-shelled brothers are dead at the hands of The Foot Clan. When the video game adaptation was initially announced in 2023, it was said to be a ‘dark’ third-person action role-playing game in the style of God of War.
It was also suggested – by Paramount’s since-departed senior vice president for games and emerging media Doug Rosen – that while the project would primarily focus on the lead character’s quest for revenge, other familiar faces might be playable in flashback sequences. Those plans might have changed significantly in the years since its announcement, of course – and that teaser trailer certainly isn’t giving much away.
Unfortunately, there’s no word of a release date for The Last Ronin yet, and the only additional information Paramount has provided so far is that it’s coming to “consoles and PC”. Mostly, its press release focuses on the creation of Paramount Games Studio; what it calls a unification of all Paramount and Skydance gaming studios that’ll focus on transforming “world-class IP into immersive franchise experiences”. Turtle power!
