Koei Tecmo, the Japanese publisher behind many popular action game series, is apparently working on a brand new project. Koei Tecmo publishes and develops Nioh, Dynasty Warriors, Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive and others.
The publisher’s next project is codenamed ‘Fuji’, and it was recently named among the projects selected by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) as part of its IP360 Initiative (via Automaton). The programme, which launched in March, was created to help grow Japan’s cultural exports – including video games.
Part of the initiative’s aim is to also encourage the development of new intellectual properties. Fuji is one such project, which Koei Tecmo plans to expand beyond games to include other forms of media.
Keo Tecmo’s own description of the new IP sadly doesn’t reveal much, but given that it’s named after Japan’s mount Fuji, it’s likely going to be set in Japan. Indeed, from what the developer shared about the project, it sounds like an action game with “oriental-style aesthetics”, which admittedly goes for most of the company’s franchises.
“Leveraging Koei Tecmo Games’ expertise in oriental-themed visuals and action games, the company will develop a completely new IP game title, aiming for a worldwide hit and broad IP expansion starting from the game,” reads the project’s machine-translated description.
In recent years, Koei Tecmo has developed and published multiple games based on new IPs, all of which more or less fit the above description. Rise of the Ronin, Wild Hearts, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty to name a few. Wo Long is the only one of the three to receive a sequel, with Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember having been announced earlier this month at the Xbox Showcase.
As part of the same initiative, other major Japanese companies like Konami, Sega, Square Enix, and Arc System Works will all be receiving grants.
