Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake Runs on the Katana Engine

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake Announcement Overview

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake was announced at the latest Nintendo Direct, and not only will the project be helmed by Team NINJA, but it will feature all new graphics while being available to everyone on all platforms for the first time. The series has been on hiatus for a while, and with all these spooky games returning to the forefront; it only makes sense that Koei Tecmo's flagship horror franchise returns as well. FF2 is arguably the best horror game ever made and now it's being made for a new day by our favorite developer and get this; it's actually a scary game with an insanely awesome storyline and characters.

Check out this two-year-old interview between Fumihiko Yasuda (Team NINJA), Makoto Shibata (Fatal Frame) & Keiichiro Toyama (Silent Hill) chopping it up about games, horror, film and other cool things we all like here. Be sure to turn on the closed captioning. You can definitely see a relationship here between these two, so this collaboration isn't surprising; especially when you consider that they work for the same company!

There are a few people saying that this game shouldn't be "remade again already" and I can't understand what they mean by that. For North American players it has been 22 years since the release with only other countries getting the Wii version which has also been a considerable amount of time. FF2 is also quite expensive to own if you don't already have it with prices fetching up to 140 USD on resell sites such as eBay.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake is releasing early 2026 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Steam & Xbox platforms. Check out this awesome trailer and wish list your copy today!

New Information & Words from Master

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Master and I exchanged some words pertaining to Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake just so I could get some further clarification on this title, and I'll also admit that I had some curiosity considering that the incredible trailer left me wanting a lot more. So here are a few words from our community manager to keep the excitement contained before TGS next week!

DOAN: How does it feel to be working on this project? Are you a fan of the series? If you're new; how are you preparing for this title?

Master: I'm thrilled to be part of the Fatal Frame project. Having worked on several titles with the team, it's an honor to contribute to the remake of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. While I’m a fan of the series, I’ll admit I’m relatively new to the franchise overall.

When I first joined Team NINJA, I transitioned into the Nioh team just ahead of Nioh 2’s release. At the time, I knew nothing about the series, so I asked for a copy of the original and dove in headfirst. With help from the team and hands-on time with Nioh 2 demos and communicating with the Nioh community, I quickly got up to speed. It turned out to be an incredible experience. The game was ridiculously fun, and I kept playing long after I needed to. And yes, Nioh 3 is on the way!

I’m approaching Fatal Frame with the same mindset. I’ve been exploring the recent re-releases and digging into Fatal Frame II. Even with limited time, I can already see why fans hold this entry in such high regard. It’s genuinely impressive and I’m excited to help bring a big spotlight to the Fatal Frame community and new fans.

What do you think of the Fatal Frame series being developed by Team NINJA? We've seen a crossover, but to my knowledge this is the first time Team NINJA has been involved with a Fatal Frame project.

This marks the first time Team NINJA is officially involved with a Fatal Frame title, and honestly, it feels like a natural progression for the franchise. Fatal Frame originated as a Tecmo property, and today, most Tecmo-developed games fall under the Team NINJA umbrella, so this collaboration makes sense to me.

I believe it’s a smart move that has the potential to elevate the game even further. I’m already impressed by what I’ve seen so far. It’s exciting to be part of something that explores a completely different genre than what we typically work on. The shift into psychological horror is refreshing, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the studio works on enhancing the experience further.

Can you tell us what engine the game is running on? Any interesting bits that we don't know? Like are Yasuda and Shibata working together?

It’s safe to say that Yasuda-san, as head of Team NINJA, continues to serve as Producer or General Producer on every title the studio develops. His leadership remains a constant across our projects, including the Fatal Frame II remake. While more details will be revealed in time, I can confirm the game is being built using our Katana Engine. It's looking really good and I'm excited to see how fans of the series and newcomers alike will play the game once it releases.

 

I'm actually pretty excited for this especially since I never got to play the Wii remake due to it never releasing in America. I played through Fatal Frame 2 on the PS2 many times, definitely my favorite in the series.

 

So... ANOTHER crimson butterfly remake.

 

So... ANOTHER crimson butterfly remake.

To be fair I don’t recall it being available on the Wii for Americans; and then it was on PS2 and XBOX two decades ago.

They now go for a ton of money and now CB will be available on Steam.

 

The wii remake was an EU title. Thanks for the reminder Cowwy Tecmo. A reminder that I need to farm for type 0 film in the xbox version.

 

They call it! and on a topic Developed by Team Ninja....wait, what!?

 

Well this was unexpected. I'm not complaining though!

 

Team Ninja keeping themselves busy until the end of time

 

KT chasing trend like always.

 

I for one am excited.

 

Kinda interested in giving it a try on steam, I always liked the more euphoric horror atmosphere it has compared to a silent hill.

 

I heard this was the scariest/best one in the series. Guess that's why they skipped one and three.

 

I heard this was the scariest/best one in the series. Guess that's why they skipped one and three.

My biggest problem with this whole thing is one being skipped.

 

With this being a remake, I am concerned that they may have censorship, mostly on the characters' outfits.
Are the games related, like do I have to play them in order to understand the story?

My biggest problem with this whole thing is one being skipped.

Never played FF, but hopefully they port remaster/remake the rest. Hopefully it does well.
Not sure if there's gonna be a physical copy.

 

With this being a remake, I am concerned that they may have censorship, mostly on the characters' outfits.
Are the games related, like do I have to play them in order to understand the story?

Fatal Frame I and II are connected but you don't need to play either to understand the other.
Fatal Frame III features the protag from FFI as a playable side character with her own side arch and character development, and the uncle to the protag from FFII is another playable side character. Again, you don't have to have played the first two to enjoy the third, but it definitely helps to understand where the characters are and better understand their development.
Fatal Frame IV takes place before FFI by like a decade and has no ties to any other game in the series.
Fatal Frame V takes place a decade-ish after FFIII, and it features the protag of FFI again but not as a playable side character. Personally speaking, it destroys her character development from FFI and FFIII.

As for censorship, there were two swimsuit outfits unlockable in the Wii-make and Xbox Director's Cut of the game, but weren't available in the original PS2 release. Addtionally, in the Xbox Director's Cut you also had a Kasumi & Ayane cosplay outfit pair available.

 

Well, I confirmed with Master, which I believe is new information, that FF2CBR will be running on the Katana engine.

Please read our updated story which are direct words from our CM. You can follow him over at his X/Twitter page!