The Ninja Gaiden franchise is back thanks to Phil Spencer

Team Ninja's producer, Fumihiko Yasuda, has revealed that the studio has been eager to develop a new installment in the Ninja Gaiden series, but struggled with settling on a concept. Discussions between Koei Tecmo president Hisashi Koinuma and PlatinumGames head Atsushi Inaba eventually led to Xbox's Phil Spencer joining the conversation. Spencer proposed a collaboration among the three companies to bring the project to life.

Phil Spencer disclosed that these talks began back in 2017 during his initial discussions with Team Ninja about a potential sequel. After years of deliberations, they identified PlatinumGames as the ideal partner, given their expertise in crafting fast-paced action titles like Bayonetta and NieR: Automata.

Last week marked the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4, and to the delight of fans, a re-release of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, an enhanced edition of the Xbox 360 classic, was unexpectedly made available on Xbox, PS5, and PC.

The first trailer hints that Ryu Hayabusa, the iconic ninja, will take the lead in this thrilling action-packed slasher. The gameplay trailer showcased Ninja Gaiden 4 introducing novel mechanics not seen in earlier entries, including swift movement through environments using wires and rails.

While DOOM: The Dark Ages stole the spotlight at Developer_Direct, Ninja Gaiden 4, the next chapter in Koei Tecmo's beloved series, also made a significant impact during the event. The game is slated for release in the fall of 2025.