As most of us predicted from the moment we first saw Ninja Gaiden 4, it turns out that PlatinumGames is basically the main developer, with Team Ninja acting as advisors.
For the past decade and a bit, Ninja Gaiden fans have been begging Team Ninja to finally return to the series and give us a game that’s so good it makes us forget about the pre-Razor’s Edge version of Ninja Gaiden 3. Earlier this year, that wish was seemingly granted when Ninja Gaiden 4 was revealed out of nowhere.
Surprisingly, though, Ninja Gaiden 4 doesn’t just come from Team Ninja, as it’s actually a collaboration with PlatinumGames (as well as being funded by Xbox). Since that was confirmed, fans have wondered how the project was split up, with many believing that Ryu’s sections were handled by Team Ninja and Yakumo was all PlatinumGames.
Ninja Gaiden 4’s Main Development Was “Entirely” Done By PlatinumGames
As If That Wasn’t Already Clear From Yakumo
As pointed out by Redditor luneth22 on the Ninja Gaiden subreddit, that isn’t quite the case. Eurogamer recently had the chance to chat with Ninja Gaiden 4’s producers, including PlatinumGames’ Yuji Nakao and Team Ninja’s Masakazu Hirayama, who revealed exactly what each team provided for the game.
When I previewed Ninja Gaiden 4, I noticed that the intro credits specifically say that it’s “based on a concept by Team Ninja” but developed by Platinum.
When asked by Eurogamer how much of Ninja Gaiden 4 is Team Ninja and how much is Platinum, Hirayama revealed that the “main development” of the game takes place “entirely” at PlatinumGames. Team Ninja is sent daily builds of Ninja Gaiden 4 and then advises Platinum on what should be adjusted.
Of course, Team Ninja’s contributions are still very important, but it basically confirms once and for all that Ninja Gaiden 4 is much more of a Platinum game than you might think. Having played Ninja Gaiden 4 for a good few hours, though, I can confirm that it feels exactly how you’d want a Ninja Gaiden game to feel.
Hirayama also revealed that the reason Platinum was chosen as the developer for Ninja Gaiden 4 is because of its work on games like Nier: Automata and Bayonetta. Team Ninja’s producer noted that the collaboration is basically the only reason Ninja Gaiden 4 exists, as he notes that Team Ninja couldn’t have “achieved many things on our own”.
Ninja Gaiden 4
- Released
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October 21, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
