The Ninja Gaiden franchise is back thanks to Phil Spencer

Team Ninja producer Fumihiko Yasuda revealed that the studio has been eager to develop a new installment in the Ninja Gaiden series for a long time, but struggled to finalize a concept. The project gained momentum when Koei Tecmo president Hisashi Koinuma and PlatinumGames head Atsushi Inaba discussed the idea, eventually involving Phil Spencer. Spencer proposed a collaboration between the three companies to bring the game to life.

Phil Spencer confirmed that discussions began in 2017, during his initial conversation with Team Ninja about a potential sequel. After years of negotiations, they found an ideal partner in PlatinumGames, renowned for their work on fast-paced action games such as Bayonetta and NieR: Automata.

Last week, Ninja Gaiden 4 was officially announced. Alongside this exciting news, a re-release of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, an enhanced version of the Xbox 360 classic, was unexpectedly made available on Xbox, PS5, and PC.

The first trailer for Ninja Gaiden 4 hints that the iconic ninja Ryu Hayabusa will take the lead in this thrilling action-slasher. The gameplay trailer showcased new mechanics not seen in previous games, such as the ability to swiftly navigate through areas using wires and rails.

While DOOM: The Dark Ages was the main highlight at Developer_Direct for many gamers, Ninja Gaiden 4, the anticipated sequel to Koei Tecmo's beloved series, also made a significant impact. The game is set to launch in the fall of 2025.