Shueisha Games and ACQUIRE have announced Yakoh: Shinobi Ops, a four-shinobi cooperative online stealth action game for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam, scheduled to launch in 2027. The pitch is blunt: infiltrate, deceive, survive – and the only “complete” mission is the one where you make it back alive.

Yakoh: Shinobi Ops frames its action around a four-person team slipping through heavily guarded enemy territory. Soldiers patrol relentlessly, traps sit in the dark, and a single half-second error can get someone killed. The game leans hard into the idea that true shinobi do not need to win by slaughtering everyone – the core loop is concealment, misdirection, and synchronized movement that keeps the team out of sight.

The reveal aired during State of Play, and the developers stress that while the game can be enjoyed solo, it is designed to shine when four players operate as a unified force. That means reading guard routes, lines of sight, and choke points together, then moving as one – not as four independent heroes. In practice, the game describes stealth as an active, high-pressure rhythm: hide when you must, move silently when you can, and sprint when escape is the only option left.

Teamwork is reinforced through distinct ninjutsu toolsets. One shinobi uses a grappling hook to reach high places, another smashes through walls to open new paths, one supports allies with smoke screens, and another distracts enemies with tools like firecrackers. The point is role clarity and timing: understanding who does what, adapting roles to the situation, and turning “nearly impossible” objectives into something a coordinated squad can actually pull off.

Perfect coordination is presented as non-negotiable. The game highlights moments where players check guard positions and sightlines from a bird’s-eye perspective, then advance simultaneously as soon as an ally creates a safe opening – for example, by deploying smoke. It also calls out co-op-specific actions such as reviving and rescuing fallen teammates, carrying allies to elevated routes, and operating devices at the same time inside enemy territory for rapid activation.

The Pursuer Cannot Be Defeated – And Extraction Brings a Different Kind of Panic

At the center of the tension sits the “Pursuer,” an ever-present threat that hunts the shinobi without mercy. The game’s premise is that the Pursuer is unstoppable: you cannot defeat it, and getting caught is certain death. Its presence is meant to turn every mission into a sustained pressure cooker, forcing split-second decisions about when to hide, when to creep forward, and when to run at full speed just to stay alive.

Crucially, finishing the objective is not the end. The game emphasizes that shinobi must return alive – leaving a corpse behind is framed as the greatest shame, and mission rewards are said to drop significantly if you fail to bring everyone back. The escape phase is described as its own test, with a time limit closing in while guards and the Pursuer converge, pushing the team toward an extraction point under escalating pressure.

Progression is tied to replayability and loadout building. The more you play, the more powerful equipment you unlock, letting you craft custom setups and experiment with different combinations until you find a build that matches your style. The promise is a steady climb into tougher missions, where tactical flexibility – mixing roles or stacking the same strengths across the squad – becomes the difference between a clean extraction and a wipe.

Forrás: Gematsu PlayStation.Blog