Nioh 3 Hell Rising DLC announced, set to release on August 19
Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja have announced the first DLC expansion content for Nioh 3, titled Hell Rising. It is set to release on August 19 for PlayStation 5 and PC.
In Nioh 3's time-hopping story structure, Hell Rising takes place during the Keian era in 1651, which is shortly after the Edo period in 1622, where the story of Takechiyo and Kunimatsu begins in the base game. The DLC will include a new open-field map, new weapons in the Hoko spear & Shield, new skills, new equipment, and new enemies. As a fun fact, fans of Fate/Samurai Remnant may recognize that the Keian era is also when that title takes place.
Hell Rising is included as part of the Nioh 3 Digital Deluxe Edition ($109.99) or Season Pass ($39.99). A second DLC, called Bloody Insurrection, is set to release by February 2027. It is also included in the Digital Deluxe Edition or Season Pass.
An announcement trailer for Nioh 3: Hell Rising can be found below, alongside a description and screenshot set, via Koei Tecmo.
Koei Tecmo America and developer Team Ninja announced that the first DLC for their popular dark samurai action RPG, Nioh 3, will be released on Aug. 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. Entitled Hell Rising, this DLC will transport players to the Keian era and feature new weapons, Martial Arts, Ninjutsu, Guardian Spirits, Soul Cores and much more. Fans can get a glimpse of the new setting that awaits them in the newly released action-packed trailer. To celebrate, the Digital Deluxe edition of Nioh 3 is available to purchase at 23% off on the PlayStation Store and Steam, and the Standard edition is 36% off on Steam for a limited time*.
In Hell Rising, players will travel to Edo in 1651 during the Keian era, where they will discover the castle town plunged into utter chaos following the death of the future shogun, Takechiyo. With the cooperation of the one-eyed swordsman Yagyu Jubei and the Spanish envoy Rodrigo, fans will unravel new mysteries surrounding the Spirit Stones to restore peace. The new open-field map, the Keian era, will feature a hellish wasteland ravaged by the gales of the Crucible, where yokai, human rebels and alchemists from foreign lands roam.
To prepare for the deadly new encounters that await them, players can equip themselves with new weapons, the hoko and shield, for both the Samurai and Ninja Styles. These weapons will offer fresh combat possibilities, with basic attacks combining the defense of the shield with the offense of the short spear, as well as more tactical moves, such as flinging the shield at enemies.
For players seeking a greater challenge, a new equipment category will be added: the Hundred Demon Realms Picture Scroll. Enemies will sometimes drop a Picture Scroll as rare loot, but to equip this item, players must achieve victory in the automatically generated battle associated with that scroll. These battles can be replayed to allow players to randomly alter one of the scroll’s special effects, whilst also strengthening and customizing it.
In addition, a new difficulty setting will be available for players wishing to attempt a third playthrough, the Enlightened One’s Journey. In this extreme difficulty mode, certain enemies will randomly receive a Curse buff that will make them significantly more powerful but will reward players with divine-rarity items if they manage to defeat them. Finally, amongst the new features introduced in the Hell Rising DLC, players will be able to further enhance their character builds with divine-rarity Grace set bonuses and powerful special effects.
Nioh 3 is now available worldwide on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC via Steam. The game includes Japanese and English voices with texts in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
