Ninja Gaiden 4 has been announced, coming to Game Pass on day one

Summary

  • Ninja Gaiden 4 was announced at the Xbox Developer Direct 2025.

  • The next main entry in the long-running series is targeting a fall 2025 release.

  • Ninja Gaiden 4 will launch on Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, in addition to being an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate day one version.

Ninja Gaiden 4 it's official, it was just announced at the Xbox Developer Direct 2025. The next major installment in the flagship series is coming to a variety of platforms and has also been confirmed as a day one Xbox Game Pass release.

Team Ninja celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025. Koei subsidiary Tecmo recently teased big plans for its anniversary year, hinting that more new projects are on the horizon.

Related

The best Ninja Gaiden games, ranked

The Ninja Gaiden series paved the way for some remarkable games; here are the best ones to come from the franchise.

Following this teaser, the Japanese company released several important announcements during the 2025 edition of the Xbox Developer Direct. Among other things, the January 23rd event was announced on Team Ninja Ninja Gaiden 4which he is currently developing in collaboration with PlatinumGames. The new main installment of the long-running franchise is currently targeting a fall 2025 release.

Ninja Gaiden 4 introduces a new protagonist

Ninja Gaiden Series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa is confirmed to return in the newly announced title. However, the upcoming game will have a different leader, Yakumo. According to PlatinumGames producer and director Yuji Nakao, the decision to introduce a new protagonist was rooted in a desire to make Ninja Gaiden 4 more accessible to newcomers who won't necessarily be familiar with the franchise's lore. Even so, the game itself will serve as a direct sequel to 2013 Ninja Gaiden 3and Ryu Hayabusa is promised to play a “significant role” in his story. Ryu will also be a playable character, although the developers hinted that this might not be the case right from the start of the game.

Ninja Gaiden 4 will introduce some new traversal mechanics, allowing players to move quickly using wires and rails. The combat is promised to be just as fast and furious as the previous entries in the Ninja Gaiden series. Many legacy abilities will 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 4 has been confirmed for 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 release, the release date could be announced in mid-2025, perhaps as part of the next Xbox Games Showcase. In the meantime, fans can dive into the Ninja Gaiden 2 Blacka new version of NG2 remastered in Unreal Engine 5. The game was just shadowed for PC and consoles on January 23rd and can also be played through Xbox Game Pass.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the highest tier of Microsoft's flagship gaming subscription service, offering over 100 game titles that you can play with a single purchase, making it one of the ecosystem's most outstanding value propositions Xbox so far.

Leave a Comment