Say it ain't NiohRise of the Ronin is off to a rough start on PC as it becomes Team Ninja's worst-performing major Steam launch in yearsFor a while, it looked like Team Ninja may have finally figured out how to cultivate an audience on PC for its biggest games, but its latest release stumbles.Image credit: Team Ninja, Sony Interactive Entertainment. News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor Published on March 12, 2025 If youre among the millions of players currently enjoying Monster Hunter Wilds, or the many others holding out hope that Assassins Creed Shadows wont be a disappointment, theres one other major March release that likely fell off your radar.That, of course, being the PC launch of Rise of the Ronin, the once-PS5 exclusive game from Nioh and Ninja Gaiden maker Team Ninja. The game arrived Tuesday on Steam with what could only be described as a thud.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Rise of the Ronin is finally on PC, some one year after its initial release on PS5. As Team Ninjas next big game, and the follow-up to the exceptional Nioh series, there was a lot riding on it kicking off a new franchise for publisher Koei Tecmo.Unfortunately, the game disappointed many of those who come to Team Ninjas game for a very specific experience, and failed to capture the more casual audience because of just how predictable and samey the experience it offers is, compared to its contemporaries. If you were hoping the PC launch would revive interest in the game, and perhaps allow it to make a better impression, youre sadly going to be disappointed.Rise of the Ronin has peaked at a meagre 12,105 players on Steam following its launch (via SteamDB), a far cry from the figures recent major releases from Team Ninja, such as Nioh 2, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty managed to pull. This is particularly strange coming on the heels of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, which was a big hit for KT, peaking at a very respectable 69,483 concurrent players when it launched in January. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.The player reception to Rise of the Ronin isnt much better, either, with just under 1,000 user reviews on Steam, and an overall rating of Mixed. Alongside the usual cavalcade of complaints about performance, many players dont like how, well, Assassins Creed-y it feels.Granted, theres still room for things to improve throughout the week and maybe even get a boost over the weekend. Weve certainly seen games start slow and garner more players as word of mouth spreads, but those games usually start off with much higher numbers.Its hard to have high hopes, however, given that Ronins release is sandwiched between titans like Monster Hunter, and the upcoming Assassins Creed Shadows - another game also covering a similar era in Japan, and offering similar gameplay.