“We were facing challenges in determining a strategy.”
Ninja Gaiden 4 emerged as one of the major surprises at the Xbox Developer Direct last week, and many were astonished to witness Xbox publishing a title from PlatinumGames / Team NINJA (Koei Tecmo) upfront – all thanks to Phil Spencer!
In a recent interview with Game Watch (translated by the diligent individuals at VGC), Team NINJA producer Fumihiko Yasuda stated that discussions for a Ninja Gaiden 4 project had been ongoing for a while, but they struggled to figure out how to move forward. Luckily, Phil Spencer intervened and proposed a collaboration.
“We were having trouble selecting a plan. Then, Koei Tecmo president Hisashi Koinuma and PlatinumGames president Atsushi Inaba, who are from the same era and are good friends, had a chance to discuss the topic.
“Afterward, Phil Spencer from Microsoft suggested that the three companies – PlatinumGames, Koei Tecmo, and Microsoft – collaborate on a new numbered title in the Ninja Gaiden series, and that’s how the project got underway.”
Phil Spencer himself elaborated on this in an interview earlier this week, mentioning that it has been nearly a decade since discussions began about some form of partnership, which was ultimately solidified once PlatinumGames (renowned for titles like Bayonetta and NieR: Automata) committed to the project.
Currently, there is no specific release date for Ninja Gaiden 4 aside from a “Fall 2025” timeframe, so it’s something to look forward to toward the end of 2025. Don’t forget it’s also an Xbox Game Pass title – the excitement for Xbox first-party content awaits you!
How excited are you for Ninja Gaiden 4 on Xbox? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Fraser serves as the News Editor at Pure Xbox, where he dedicates his time to reporting the most significant stories in the realm of Xbox and beyond.