No More Heroes Turns 20 in 2027: Suda51 and Marvelous Confirm Travis Touchdown Will Definitely Return
Just when it looked like Travis Touchdown had permanently hung up his leather jacket and Beam Katana after the cosmic chaos of the third mainline entry, Santa Destroy's most notorious otaku assassin is getting ready to clock back in. Grasshopper Manufacture founder and CEO Goichi Suda (widely known as Suda51) has confirmed that plans are actively underway alongside publisher Marvelous to celebrate the 20th anniversary of No More Heroes in 2027.
Grasshopper Manufacture and Marvelous Team Up for 2027
Originally released in Japan on December 6, 2007 for the Nintendo Wii (followed by its Western debut in early 2008), the original No More Heroes will officially hit the two-decade milestone next year. When asked in Japan whether anything was brewing to commemorate the occasion, Goichi Suda made it clear that both the development studio and the franchise's longtime publisher are already aligned:
"Marvelous is well aware of this, so we'd definitely like to do something together to mark the 20th anniversary. We're planning to deliver something special, so please look forward to it. Travis Touchdown is definitely coming back!"
That explicit collaboration with Marvelous Entertainment is the decisive piece of the puzzle. Because intellectual property rights to the No More Heroes franchise are held jointly with Marvelous, Suda51 could never unilaterally greenlight a revival on his own. Having both parties actively working together opens the door to everything from a full-scale remake of the original Wii classic to a brand-new mainline entry or a celebratory multimedia project.
From Retirement to a Maverick-Style Comeback
For years, Suda51 maintained that No More Heroes 3 (which debuted on Nintendo Switch in 2021 before arriving on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in 2022) represented Travis's final battle. After putting the character through the wringer across three numbered installments and the 2019 spin-off Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, the director frequently joked that his leading man was exhausted and needed a proper retirement.
Even then, however, Suda left a narrow window open. Back in 2022, he remarked that nobody could predict what would happen down the road, noting that if fan outcry was loud enough, Travis might eventually return just like Tom Cruise stepping back into the cockpit as Maverick in Top Gun. Rather than waiting a full decade, the 20th anniversary in 2027 has clearly accelerated the timetable.
A Newly Independent Grasshopper Manufacture
The timing of this anniversary project also reflects a major structural shift for Grasshopper Manufacture. In September 2026, the Tokyo studio officially regained its independence from former parent company NetEase Games, cleanly sidestepping the sweeping divestments that recently led to the official dissolution of Nagoshi Studio before its debut project could even ship.
Equipped with expanded self-publishing capabilities and renewed freedom ahead of Grasshopper's own 30th anniversary in 2028, Suda51's team can now partner freely with external publishers under its trademark "NO GAME NO LIFE" philosophy. After shipping its latest original action title and navigating the hurdles surrounding the Nintendo Switch 2 port of Romeo Is a Dead Man, reuniting with Marvelous to bring Travis Touchdown back in 2027 feels like a natural victory lap.
My Take
I can't help but grin seeing Suda51 pull Travis Touchdown out of retirement so soon. Anyone who spent hours back in 2008 furiously flicking a Wii Remote with a snap of the wrist to recharge a dying Beam Katana battery knows that No More Heroes carries a punk-rock swagger no other action series has ever quite replicated. Sure, the unhinged finale of No More Heroes 3 felt like a definitive curtain call that wrapped up his arc, making a direct narrative sequel a tricky tightrope to walk. What really makes this announcement exciting, though, is that Marvelous is sitting right there at the table from day one. Since they co-own the IP rights, having both sides aligned finally clears the biggest legal hurdle, whether that means a full ground-up remake of the original Wii classic or one more blood-soaked climb up the galactic assassin rankings.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles "Grimtag" is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
