The secret fourth game featured on the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 was Ninja Gaiden 4.
This new sequel to Koei Tecmo’s long-dormant action game series will see a new protagonist and resident developer Team Ninja working together with fellow action game experts at PlatinumGames.
Ninja Gaiden 4 sees players take on new protagonist Yakumo where the city of Tokyo has no been transformed into something unsettling. And cyberpunk-y. It’s all wet and raining with neon lights all around.
Ninja Gaiden 4 promises that familiar punishing action combat, now with a little bit of that Platinum flair. Combat looks flashier when blood isn’t filling up the screen, and there is rail-grinding and grappling hook-based platforming involved as well. That’s the PlatinumGames lustre on display there.
Ryu Hayabusa, the main protagonist of Ninja Gaiden series (and part of the core roster of the Dead Of Alive fighting games) is still around in Ninja Gaiden 4, though it looks like he’s now an adversary which Yakumo must face.
Ninja Gaiden 4 will be published by Xbox Game Studios, but will be available on PS5 day-and-date with the Xbox and PC releases. Xbox isn’t being coy and hiding the PlayStation logo on their social channels anymore, the trailer and promos has the PS5 logo on them. Usually, when console makers like PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo won’t show their competitor’s platform logo as to not promote them.
Koei Tecmo has regularly collaborated with other big publishers on new titles as of recently which includes EA (Wild Hearts) and PlayStation Studios (Rise Of The Ronin).
Team Ninja has been mostly making action-soulslikes, evolving their Ninja Gaiden action combat to fit the mould of a “masocore” action-RPG with titles like Nioh, Nioh 2, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Rise Of The Ronin.
PlatniumGames previously worked with Xbox for Scalebound which ended up being cancelled, so this would be their first collaboration, although in-directly, where the two parties would ship a game.
Ninja Gaiden 4 will be out in Fall (Q4) 2025 for the PS5, PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) and Xbox Series X|S. The game will be available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.