Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires Announced for 2021

Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires has been announced for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. Unlike previous cross-generation Dynasty Warriors games, the PC port will be at the same level as the next-gen editions of the game. It will arrive in early 2021.

The Empires sub-series takes Dynasty Warriors’ ‘1 vs. 1,000’ action game set-up, and places it within a strategy game structure, seeing players take on the role of a hero, and either aiding existing factions to conquer medieval China – or establish their own.

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Dynasty Warriors 9 was the first open-world installment in the series and, while 9 Empires will stick with its traditional strategic structure, producer Akihiro Suzuki tells IGN that the freedom of approach offered in the mainline game will be replicated in this spin-off, saying, “we are incorporating a variety of strategies in the siege battles.”

The game will also support 2-player online co-op. The Nintendo Switch version – which will be the first Dynasty Warriors game specifically built for Switch – will exclusively support local wireless co-op play.

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9 Empires will also include an “enriched” edit function to let you create your own officer. Suzuki explains that, “The facial editing will allow for more customisation compared to previous Empires games,” and compares it to Nioh 2’s character creation features.

No features will be unique to the next-gen editions of the game, but players should expect, “improvements on the next-gen versions in the visual quality, framerate stability and crowded chaotic gameplay.”

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].