Ninja Gaiden 4: Release Date, Platforms, Story, and Gameplay — Everything You Need to Know

Not my usual beat, but when two action-game heavyweights decide to mash up for a new Ninja Gaiden, that crosses over into pop-culture must-know territory. Team NINJA and PlatinumGames are tag-teaming a proper sequel, and yeah, that combo is exactly as wild as it sounds.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is real, dated, and swinging hard

The next mainline Ninja Gaiden lands October 21, 2025. It is technically the seventh mainline entry but the fourth numbered one, because franchise math is chaos. No delays have been floated so far, so pencil that date in ink.

• Release date: October 21, 2025
• Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Steam and Microsoft Store), day-one on Xbox Game Pass
• Developer: Team NINJA with PlatinumGames
• Price: $69.99 (Standard), $89.99 (Deluxe)
• Deluxe Edition: cosmetics, 50,000 Bonus NinjaCoin, in-game items, and future gameplay content

Story: new blood in a ruined cyber-Tokyo

Set right after Ninja Gaiden 3 (2012), the game drops us into a Tokyo that has gone full grimy cyberpunk nightmare, courtesy of a toxic perpetual downpour dubbed the 'Rain of Darkrot.' The nasty part: that rain is basically a neon sign that the Dark Dragon is still kicking.

Here is the big shift: instead of following series icon Ryu Hayabusa the whole way, Ninja Gaiden 4 centers on a new lead named Yakumo. The idea is to make the story a clean on-ramp for newcomers without tossing the legacy fans overboard. Yakumo fights using something called the Bloodraven Form, which lets him weaponize blood — his and his enemies' — to craft brutal, shape-shifting tools mid-combat. Yes, it is metal.

Ryu is not sidelined, though. He plays a significant role in the plot and is playable in specific sections. The mission for both: take down the Dark Dragon and shut off the Rain of Darkrot before the city dissolves into sludge.

Gameplay: fast, nasty, and literally out to crush you

This is still Ninja Gaiden, so expect high-speed, combo-heavy hack-and-slash that punishes sloppy play. The wrinkle here is the environment — the footage makes it pretty clear the world is trying to kill you too. Collapsing buildings, shifting terrain, that kind of chaos. Survival is a skill check, not a given.

Yakumo and Ryu bring very different toolkits, which should open up multiple approaches to the same fights. If you are into surgical, stylish action with a high ceiling, this is built for you. And with Team NINJA and Platinum sharing a sandbox, the combat pedigree is about as strong as it gets. Inside baseball note: those two studios each have their own distinct flavor of speed and precision; seeing them mix could be the most interesting part of the whole project.

Final thought

A numbered Ninja Gaiden coming back after more than a decade, with Platinum in the mix and a new lead who blood-bends weapons in a rain-rotted Tokyo? That is a lot of heat. If the date sticks — and right now it sounds like it will — October just got busier.