Summary
Among the many announcements folded into Thursday’s Xbox Developer Direct, includingrelease dates for Doom: The Dark Ages,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33andSouth of Midnight, was the reveal of not one but twoNinja Gaidengames.The first, Ninja Gaiden 4, a direct sequel to Ninja Gaiden 3, was revealed and given a 2025 release date.
Then, to top things off,it was revealed that Ninja Gaiden 2 would be receiving a full-on remake titled Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. That game just happened to be a shadowdrop, available immediately after the conference concluded.
Outside a compilation title, the two represent the first Ninja Gaiden games since 2013’s Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge. In other words, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen Ryu Hayabusa, and if you ask Team Ninja, there is no better home for him thanXbox.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is also available on PlayStation, and Ninja Gaiden 4 will also come to the console.
Ninja Gaiden And Xbox Go Way Back
In a deep dive shared on Xbox Wire, which revealed, among other things,Ninja Gaiden 4 retaining its signature difficulty, Team Ninja’s Fumihiko Yasuda and Platinum Games' Yuji Nakao took a moment to reflect on the history of the game on Microsoft’s flagship console.
“With titles like the Dead or Alive series and the Ninja Gaiden series — especially the original Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black, and Ninja Gaiden 2 — we have a deep history with Xbox," Yasuda said. “It’s been a long time, but we’re thrilled to bring the latest installment back to Xbox players.”
Indeed, Ninja Gaiden first got its start in 2004 with the first Ninja Gaiden, before Ninja Gaiden Black was released a year later in 2005. Then, Ninja Gaiden 2 came exclusively to the Xbox 360 in 2008. It wasn’t until Ninja Gaiden 3 that the series saw a same-day multiplatform release.
Meanwhile, Nakao hearkened back to his own experiences with the franchise, saying, “Personally, I played Ninja Gaiden 2 on Xbox 360, so being able to play the latest installment on Xbox again makes me very happy. Even now, I occasionally boot up Ninja Gaiden 2 on my Xbox Series X.”
Of course, Nakao won’t have to do that anymore with 2 Black being available everywhere, but the point still stands. Ninja Gaiden has a long-running history on Xbox, and so it’s only fitting that it continues.
