With the return of so many classic series, such as Onimusha: Way of the Sword and Okami 2, Koei Tecmo didn’t want to be left out. After over a decade since the last mainline entry, the infamous ninja Ryu Hyabusa is back, but he’s not alone. Ninja Gaiden 4 was revealed at the top of 2025 and looks like a major evolution on the fast and brutal action the series pioneered. This upcoming video game isn’t as far away as some other upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games, so now’s the perfect time to sharpen your blades to see what challenges await when it arrives.
Ninja Gaiden 4 isn’t an upcoming Switch game, but there is a chance it could show up on the Switch 2.
Release window
Ninja Gaiden 4 is ready to Izuna Drop into your consoles sometime in fall 2025.
Please enable Javascript to view this content
Platforms
Ninja Gaiden 4 is confirmed to be launching on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC via Steam. It will also be a Game Pass title for those subscribed to the service.
Trailers
The official announcement trailer for Ninja Gaiden 4 was the surprise opening to the Developer_Direct 2025 hosted by Xbox. This initial trailer was quick, but there was a lot more information given in the full direct and afterward.
The trailer itself begins by introducing us to the current state of Tokyo in the many years since the end of Ninja Gaiden 3. In that time, the Dark Dragon has returned and has been causing chaos and death within the city through an endless cursed rain. It isn’t Ryu who we see first, but a new character to the franchise named Yakumo who will serve as the protagonist. He is young, but with the potential to be a master ninja and is part of a clan rivaling the Raven clan. Of course, he will meet Ryu on his mysterious mission, though they appear to be at odds.
That said, Ryu will still play a major role in the story according to the developers.
Gameplay
One thing made clear very early on is that both Yakumo and Ryu will be playable characters, though it seems like Yakumo will get the majority of the spotlight as new the protagonist.
The gameplay segments we’ve seen all have that signature Ninja Gaiden speed and brutality, but with the stylish nature co-developers PlatinumGames is known for. This is most evident in the speed of dodges, parries, and how several finishing moves cleave enemies in two and cause a brief pause with giant painstroke slashes and kanji appearing on the screen.
We already see that the classic Izuna Drop and Flying Swallow moves are making a return, but gameplay has evolved quite a bit. It is still intended to be challenging yet fair, but now Yakumo will have access to different styles. The first is Nue style which focuses on more sweeping attacks better suited to groups and can unleash a Bloodbath Kill that can cut clean through any enemies it hits in a single slash. Bloodraven style, on the other hand, is closer to the classic precision sword combat of the original games. Ryu appears to play using his classic moves and tools, though there are likely some changes here that we are not aware of just yet.
The two enemy types we know of so far are an army of cybernetic ninjas wielding various weapons. Bosses will be the most challenging fights, as you would expect. They all have the same tools as the player, forcing you to precisely time your attacks when the opportunity presents itself while making sure to properly dodge and block.
Weapons will be upgradable using Bloodbind Ninjutsu, but what ways they can be enhanced or how many weapons there are is still unclear.
Traversal has seen the biggest changes from previous games. There are still the classic wall-running and jumping moves of old, but now Yakumo will be able to do a ninja run, slide, grapple, and even grind on rails like Sonic.
Preoder
We only know that Ninja Gaiden 4 will arrive sometime this fall so we can’t give you any preorder information at this time. As soon as we know more, we will update this article.
