Ninja Gaiden 4 kicked off Xbox’s January Developer Direct with a surprise bang, and apparently the series’ revival isn’t just getting marketed by Xbox, but it’s actually being published by the company as well.
After the reveal, a user on X asked Greenberg if Ninja Gaiden 4 was a first-party title, to which Greenberg said “Yes it is a first party XGS published title for us, and we have loved working with those teams on this game/announce.”
Greenberg then pointed to the Xbox Wire announcement, which dives into the creation of the game a bit more with head of Team Ninja Fumihiko Yasuda.
“PlatinumGames had the expertise we felt was ideal for working on NINJA GAIDEN, and with support from Microsoft’s Phil-san [Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming], the three companies were able to take the next step towards creating a brand-new NINJA GAIDEN,” says Yasuda.
Xbox publishing Ninja Gaiden 4 is obviously a pretty big addition to the company’s portfolio, but more than that, highlights its shift toward becoming a third-party publisher. There’s been a very deliberate move away from Xbox exclusives in the last two years, and this most recent Developer Direct made that abundantly clear.
Three of the four games shown off are launching on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC simultaneously. The only outlier is South of Midnight, which is currently only announced for Xbox and PC. We also know Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to PS5 in early 2025.
Reviving a franchise like Ninja Gaiden and using that to headline the first big show of the year really seems like a statement — that the new era of Xbox is starting.
Yesterday’s show also announced an enhanced version of the series’ second game, called Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, which is out now on PS5, Xbox, and PC.
Ninja Gaiden 4 launches Fall 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.
