Summary
Ninja Gaiden 4is official, having just been announced at the Xbox Developer Direct 2025. The next mainline installment in the iconic series is coming to a variety of platforms and has also been confirmed as a day-oneXbox Game Passrelease.
Team Ninja is celebrating its 30th anniversaryin 2025. The Koei Tecmo subsidiary has recently teased big plans for its anniversary year, hinting at multiple new projects being on the horizon.
Following up on that teaser, the Japanese company has dropped several big announcements during the2025 edition of the Xbox Developer Direct. Among other things, the January 23 event saw Team Ninja announceNinja Gaiden 4, which it’s currently developing in collaboration with PlatinumGames. The new mainline installment in the long-running franchise is presently targeting a fall 2025 launch.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Introduces a New Protagonist
Ninja Gaidenseries protagonist Ryu Hayabusais confirmed to be returning in the newly announced title. However, the upcoming game will feature a different lead, Yakumo. According to PlatinumGames' producer and director Yuji Nakao, the decision to introduce a new protagonist was rooted in a desire to makeNinja Gaiden 4more accessible to newcomers, who won’t necessarily be familiar with the lore of the franchise. Even so, the game itself will serve as a direct sequel to the 2013Ninja Gaiden 3, and Ryu Hayabusa is promised to play a “significant role” in its story. Ryu will also be a playable character, though the developers hinted this may not be the case from the very beginning of the game.
Ninja Gaiden 4will introduce some new traversal mechanics, allowing players to quickly move around with the help of wires and rails. Combat is promised to be as fast-paced and hectic as the prior entries in theNinja Gaidenseries. Many legacy abilities will be making a return, complementing a variety of new unique movesets, Team Ninja said. In terms of difficulty, fans can expect a steep level of challenge on par with the rest of the franchise.
Ninja Gaiden 4has been confirmed for the Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to play it from day one as part of their subscriptions. Given how the upcoming action adventure is targeting a late 2025 launch, its release date could be announced circa mid-2025, perhaps as part of the next Xbox Games Showcase. In the meantime, fans candive intoNinja Gaiden 2 Black, a new version ofNG2remastered in Unreal Engine 5. The game was just shadow-dropped for PC and consoles on January 23 and can also be played via Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft’s flagship game subscription service that offers over 100 game titles that you may play with a single purchase, making it one of the most outstanding value propositions of the Xbox ecosystem to date.
