Phil Spencer on the return of Ninja Gaiden «an idea from a long time ago» – Ruetir

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Ninja Gaiden 4 scaled by Ditible

The reveal of Ninja Gaiden 4 during the recent Xbox Developer Direct was a big surprise, but apparently the title in question has been in the works for several years.

This news comes via Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, who spoke about a series of topics during an interview with the Gamertag Radio podcast.

Spencer talked about how Xbox has worked to improve its relationships with various Japanese teams, noting that the idea for a new Ninja Gaiden game was born about seven years ago, when the company began to test the waters. Here are his words on the matter:

I am very satisfied with our relationships with publishers in Japan. A lot of listening went into ensuring that Xbox had a healthy relationship with Japanese developers. It’s what the Xbox community deserves, and we want to focus on that.

The vice president of the Games Marketing division of Microsoft Gaming also specified that Ninja Gaiden 4 is in all respects a first party video game and that it will be published under the Xbox Game Studios label, then underlining that the project was born thanks to «the travels that Phil Spencer made several years ago in Japan to meet with those teams.”

Ninja Gaiden 4

As mentioned several times, in recent years Xbox has made giant strides in obtaining the support of Japanese teams, which has brought franchises such as Like a Dragon and Persona to Xbox, as well as marketing works such as Metaphor ReFantazio. Furthermore, after years as a console exclusive on PlayStation, in 2024 Microsoft also brought HoYoverse’s free-to-play game, namely Genshin Impact, to Xbox.

Ninja Gaiden 4 will arrive 12 years after Ninja Gaiden 3, the last main installment of the franchise. The game is jointly developed by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames, with Xbox Game Studios supervising the project.

Ninja Gaiden 4 will introduce a new protagonist named Yakumo whose mission will put him on a direct collision course with Ryu Hayabusa, the historical protagonist of the saga who will be playable during the game.

Team Ninja also recently released Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a remake in Unreal Engine 5 of the original Ninja Gaiden 2. This new version of the game includes new aesthetic improvements while maintaining many of the features introduced in the Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma version.

Ninja Gaiden 4, unless postponed, will be released in autumn 2025 on Xbox Series

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