Ninja Gaiden was front and center during today’s Xbox Developer_Direct, with the announcement and shadow drop of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, and the reveal that Ninja Gaiden 4 is the mystery title that was being teased about ahead of the event.
Being developed by PlatinumGames, with Team Ninja collaborating, Ninja Gaiden 4 is being developed for the Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5, much to the disappointment of many Xbox fans in the event’s chat.
While Ninja Gaiden 4 will once again tell the tale of the legendary Ninja Ryu Hayabusa, he will also share the screen with a new protagonist, Yakumo, who seems to have a bone to pick with Ryu, and his own objective that is shrouded in mystery. Seems like there’s going to be a lot of conflict going on and that’s going to be so good.
Ninja Gaiden 4 will be a direct follow-up to Ninja Gaiden 3, which was released in March 2012 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Hopefully, with PlatinumGames at the helm, Ninja Gaiden 4 will be a better experience than Ninja Gaiden 3, which was the worst of the rebooted series, offering lackluster combat and often the less favorite of the games. However, with PlatinumGames handling the action, a company that is known for working on amazing action titles such as Astral Chain, and Nier: Automata, I’m sure the game is in good hands.
But before we get all excited, we can’t forget about another Ninja Gaiden title, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, which was revealed during the 2024 The Game Awards. In development by DoTEMU and the Game Kitchen, this spin-off will feature a new protaginst, Kenji Mozu, a ninja from the Hayabusa village and clan who will be taking on his mission while Ryu Hayabusa is tending to his adventure in America.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is slated to be released in Fall 2025.
