Capcom continues to impress. The Onimusha franchise, which hasn’t received a new title in over twenty years, has accumulated 2 million wishlist additions two weeks before the release of Onimusha: Way of the Sword. For a series whose last major entry, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams on PS2, was released in 2006, this isn’t just a number. It’s a signal. The market is hungry for samurai action with demons.
Capcom officially confirmed the achievement on social media. The game will be released on September 4, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC—via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store. The standard edition will cost $69.99. But behind this seemingly standard news about pre-release marketing lie several subtle layers. And they deserve a separate discussion.
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2 Million Wishlists – And That’s Just the Beginning
For context: the Onimusha series has sold 9.1 million copies since 2001. That means 2 million wishlists is more than a fifth of the franchise’s total sales. And that’s just people who wishlisted the game, not bought it. Of course, wishlists don’t equal sales—everyone knows that. But when it comes to bringing back a series after a twenty-year hiatus, this level of interest suggests Capcom has hit a nerve. Incidentally, according to unconfirmed reports, the story campaign will take around 20 hours—there’s no official confirmation yet, but if so, the game promises to be more than just a casual stroll.
Incidentally, 2026 is already a busy year for Capcom. Resident Evil Requiem, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflections, Pragmata—three hits in a row. Onimusha is the fourth. According to wishlists, it’s not out of the ordinary.
Why Capcom Moved the Release Three Weeks Earlier
Now this is interesting. Onimusha: Way of the Sword was originally scheduled for September 25th. But on July 2nd, Capcom unexpectedly moved the date forward three weeks, to September 4th. The reason? Producer Akihito Kadowaki admitted to reporters even before the move: the team was surprised by how busy September turned out to be. Control Resonant and Silent Hill: Townfall are released in the middle of the month, and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, Marvel’s Wolverine, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Ikaruga, and Minecraft Dungeons 2 are released at the end. In such a meat grinder, even a major project risks getting lost. Capcom chose not to battle the giants in a single window, but to launch a little earlier and capture the audience’s attention. A risky, but logical, decision.
However, the transfer had an unfortunate side effect: digital pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 were automatically cancelled and must be re-ordered through the eShop. Physical editions were unaffected.
Comparison with Other Capcom Games – Is That a Lot?
There are no official wishlist figures for other Capcom games publicly available – the company doesn’t publish such data for each project. But we can compare it to what’s known about the series as a whole. 2 million is a significant number. Assuming a 30–40% conversion rate from wishlists to first-month sales (a common scenario for returning franchises), Onimusha could launch with 600,000–800,000 copies based on this base alone. For a game that hasn’t been released for 20 years, that’s an excellent result.
Of course, this is just a forecast. But the very fact that we’re discussing such figures for a franchise that was essentially put on hold speaks volumes.
What Are Players Saying About the Demo? Capcom’s Response to Criticism
The Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo was released on June 3rd across all platforms and has amassed over a million downloads. It would seem like a success. But players quickly found fault.
Franchise veterans complained en masse: the demo was too easy, the enemies were passive, and even on higher difficulties there was no challenge. A debate has erupted on social media and forums: did Capcom really make Onimusha casual?
Producer Akihito Kadowaki responded to the criticism. The explanation was simple and logical. The demo shows the earliest stage of the story—Kiyomizu-dera Temple. However, the developers artificially gave the protagonist, Miyamoto Musashi, skills that are only unlocked in the full game near the end. Naturally, with a high-level arsenal, it’s too easy to play against the weak starting demons.
Kadowaki assured that in the final build, common enemies and bosses will be much more aggressive and balanced for the player’s current progression. At the same time, Capcom isn’t planning on making it a Soulslike—common enemies will remain relatively accessible, and the main challenges will appear near the end of the game. Furthermore, the studio hinted at additional difficulty options for the most experienced players. So, those who were intimidated by the demo’s ease can rest easy.
By the way, the developers have promised a technical patch for the demo in the coming days—it won’t add any content, only internal tweaks due to the release date shift. Those who save their progress from the demo will receive the “Kubi Akari” talisman in the full game. A small, but nice touch.
What’s Next? Date, Platforms, Bonuses
Release date: September 4, 2026. Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store). The standard edition is priced at $69.99.
The pre-order bonus is now called the “Early Buyer Bonus”—it’s valid until September 24 on consoles and until September 26 on Steam and the Epic Games Store. If you’re planning to pick up the game on Switch 2 and have already pre-ordered digitally, check—it may have been canceled, and you’ll have to re-order.
Capcom has released a separate benchmark tool for PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store. It runs cutscenes, combat, and movement, showing average framerate and frame rate drops. It’s a good way to test whether your system can handle the grim Kyoto.
Capcom is also releasing a series of “Unusual Tales of Onimusha” videos; the third episode showed the Yasui Konpiragu Shrine, a real-life temple in Kyoto that, in the game, becomes the lair of the multi-armed demon Rasho-Gan. It’s a curious lore bonus for those who want to dig deeper.
What’s next? We’ll wait for the release and see if the game lives up to the hype. Apparently, Capcom is confident in its product—otherwise, they wouldn’t have pushed the release date forward, risking a near-empty window. Everything will become clear on September 4th.
