Announced earlier this year during an Xbox Developer_Direct, Ninja Gaiden 4 now has a release date of October 21, 2025. Available as a day one title on Game Pass, Ninja Gaiden 4 is developed by PlatinumGames and stars a new protagonist, Yakumo, who doesn’t hail from the Dragon Ninja of the Hayabusa Clan. Instead, Yakumo comes from a newly introduced faction known as the Raven Clan and serves as its ninja prodigy. Tying into the theme, Yakumo will have a Bloodraven Form, which transforms all the regular inputs to completely new moves when activated. Of course, players will have to act quickly, as the Bloodraven Form rapidly depletes the Bloodbind Gauge used to activate it.
Along with Bloodraven Form, Ninja Gaiden 4 features several other new elements, including Weapon Skills, a grappling hook-like tool called the Caddis Wire, and the Berserk Gauge that encourages more aggressive combat. Filling the Berserk Gauge will activate the Berserk state, which adds devastating finishing moves or Bloodbath Kills.
As the first new installment in the series in about 13 years, Ninja Gaiden 4 will likely be on a lot of gamers’ radar later this year. For those concerned that PlatinumGames might be creating a soulslike to match current trends, producer and director Yuji Nakao offered reassurance that the game will remain a classic 3D slash-action title. You can learn more about the game’s design philosophy in an interview published on Xbox Wire.
