Team Ninja (チームニンジャ) (stylised as Team NINJA) is a Japanese video game developer and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995 as a part of Tecmo.
Description[]
During the mid 1990s, Japanese gaming company Tecmo was in financial trouble. Seeing how popular Sega's Virtua Fighter series was in Japan at the time, the management asked Tomonobu Itagaki to create a game similar to Virtua Fighter. In order to stand out from other fighting games, Itagaki focused on making Dead or Alive fast-paced and provocative. The Dead or Alive success was key part in saving Tecmo from bankruptcy. To expand on it, Tecmo Creative #3 was formed by Tomonobu Itagaki with the purpose of creating the home versions of Dead or Alive as well as a sequel.
In 1999, Tecmo Creative #3 was renamed Team Ninja to give Tecmo an identity and be recognized as an elite team. That same year, Team Ninja started work on a new Ninja Gaiden project, originally intended for arcades, later for the Dreamcast. Due to Sega exiting the console business, development was moved to the PlayStation 2. However, due to Itagaki being impressed by the technological capabilities of the new Xbox from Microsoft, development was moved to that platform. Ninja Gaiden would be released in 2004 to rave critical acclaim.
In 2008, the action-adventure game Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360 was published by Microsoft Game Studios, making it the first game created by Team Ninja to not be published by Tecmo; Tecmo Koei later released an enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden II on the PlayStation 3 as Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
In 2009, it was announced that Tecmo and Koei would be merging. A year later all of Tecmo's assets were absorbed into Koei Tecmo, including IP and its subsidiaries and divisions. Team Ninja would continue as subsidiary of Koei Tecmo.
Team Ninja collaborated on multiple titles with Nintendo. In 2010, Team Ninja co-developed a new Metroid action-adventure game for Nintendo's Wii console, titled Metroid: Other M. Team Ninja would in 2014 also collaborate with Omega Force on the development of Hyrule Warriors, an action game set in The Legend of Zelda universe. Team Ninja collaborated with SEGA AM2 with 2012's Dead or Alive 5, bringing characters from Virtua Fighter to Dead or Alive, and co-developing an Arcade version of the title.
In 2012, Team Ninja released Ninja Gaiden 3. Later that year, they released an enhanced version Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge on Nintendo Wii, which was also later released on PlayStation and Xbox.
In 2013, following a reconstructing of Koei Tecmo, Team Ninja would cease to exist internally, being renamed Koei Tecmo Ichigaya, with Yosuke Hayashi subsequently becoming Head of the Ichigaya Development Group. The developer was also split into two distinct development teams, one led by Ninja Gaiden Sigma director Yosuke Hayashi and one led by Fatal Frame producer Keisuke Kikuchi. Further restructuring at Koei Tecmo in 2016 resulted in Team Tachyon being shut down and large amount of developers were moved to Team Ninja.
In 2004, Koei has started the development of Nioh, based on an Akira Kurosawa script. The project was moved between multiple developers, such as Omega Force, but eventually after the merger, in 2010, Koei approached Team Ninja to help develop the game. Initially Team Ninja had concerns about the game's concept involving western protagonist in Sengoku era Japan, however they still proceeded with the project and in 2012 the development was fully transferred to Team Ninja. In 2017, Team Ninja would release Nioh, a new action role-playing game to great critical response. The title would go on to receive multiple awards, and became Team Ninja's best-selling title.
In 2019, Team Ninja released Marvel Ultimate alliance 3: The Black Order for Nintendo Switch as well as Dead or Alive 6. In March 2020, Team Ninja released a sequel to Nioh, Nioh 2. The development of Nioh 2 was lead by Fumihiko Yasuda, who previously led the development on Nioh. In June 2021, they released a compilation of their Ninja Gaiden series, dubbed Ninja Gaiden: master Collection. In 2022, Team Ninja released an action oriented Final Fantasy spin-off titled Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
At around 2022, Yosuke Hayashi had left Team Ninja to serve as the general manager of Koei Tecmo's entertainment division, with Fumihiko Yasuda replacing him as president. After Sony closing Japan Studio, Masaaki Yamagiwa, previously producer on Bloodborne, joined Team Ninja in 2021. In, 2022, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was announced with development led by Fumihiko Yasuda and Masaaki Yamagiwa was announced, and was released in 2023.
In 2024, Team Ninja again collaborated with Sony and released Rise of the Ronin, with Yasuda noting that it was their most ambitious project so far and their first open world game. The game would become a success with sales surpassing the Nioh series.
In 4Gamer's 2024 end-of-year interviews with Japanese game creators, Yasuda mentioned that 2025 will be the year where Team NINJA celebrates its 30th anniversary, hoping to announce and release titles fitting for the occasion. In January 2025, Team Ninja would announced Ninja Gaiden 4 co-developed by PlatinumGames. The game was produced by the head of Team Ninja and co-director of Ninja Gaiden 3, Fumihiko Yasuda, and PlatinumGames' Yuji Nakao. Nakao also directed the game together with Team Ninja's Masakazu Hirayama. In June 2025, Team Ninja also revealed the development of Nioh 3 with Fumihiko Yasuda serving as executive producer and Kohei Shibata as lead producer. Shibata previously worked as project manager for Nioh 1 and 2.
Games[]
| Title | Release year | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dead or Alive | 1996 | Arcade, Saturn, PlayStation | |
| Dead or Alive 2 | 1999 | Arcade, Dreamcast, PS2 | Credited as "Team Ninja - Tecmo Creative #3" |
| Dead or Alive 3 | 2001 | Xbox | |
| Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball | 2003 | Xbox | |
| Ninja Gaiden | 2004 | Xbox | |
| Dead or Alive Ultimate | 2004 | Xbox | Remake of Dead or Alive and Dead or Alive 2. |
| Ninja Gaiden Black | 2005 | Xbox | Enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden. |
| Dead or Alive 4 | 2005 | Xbox 360 | |
| Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 | 2006 | Xbox 360 | |
| Ninja Gaiden Sigma | 2007 | PS3,PSVita | Altered version of Ninja Gaiden. Published by Eidos Interactive in PAL regions. |
| Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword | 2008 | Nintendo DS | |
| Ninja Gaiden II | 2008 | Xbox 360 | Published by Microsoft Game Studios. |
| Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 | 2009 | PS3,PSVita | Altered version of Ninja Gaiden II. |
| Metroid: Other M | 2010 | Wii | Co-developed with Nintendo SPD, published by Nintendo. |
| Dead or Alive: Dimensions | 2011 | 3DS | Published by Nintendo in PAL regions. |
| Ninja Gaiden 3 | 2012 | PS3, Xbox 360 | |
| Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge | 2012 | PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U | Altered version of Ninja Gaiden 3. Wii U version published by Nintendo. |
| Dead or Alive 5 | 2012 | PS3, Xbox 360 | |
| Dead or Alive 5 Plus | 2013 | PSVita | Handheld version of Dead or Alive 5 |
| Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate | 2013 | PS3, Xbox 360 | Enhanced version of Dead or Alive 5, featuring additional characters and stages. |
| Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z | 2014 | PS3, Xbox 360, PC | Co-developed with Spark Unlimited and Comcept. |
| Hyrule Warriors | 2014 | Wii U, 3DS, Switch | Co-developed with Omega Force |
| Dead or Alive 5 Last Round | 2015 | PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Enhanced version of Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, featuring additional characters and stages. |
| Dissidia Final Fantasy NT | 2015 | Arcade, PS4 | Published by Square Enix. |
| Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 | 2016 | PS4, PSVita | Only released in Asia. |
| Nioh | 2017 | PS4, PC, PS5 | Originally based on a script by Akira Kurosawa; PlayStation versions published by Sony Interactive Entertainment outside of Japan. |
| Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation | 2017 | PC, macOS | |
| Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia | 2017 | Android, iOS | Published by Square Enix. |
| Fire Emblem Warriors | 2017 | 3DS, Switch | Co-developed with Omega Force. |
| Dead or Alive 6 | 2019 | PS4, Xbox One, PC | |
| Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Scarlet | 2019 | PS4, Switch | Only released in Asia. |
| Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order | 2019 | Switch | Published by Nintendo. |
| Nioh 2 | 2020 | PS4, PC, PS5 | PlayStation versions published by Sony Interactive Entertainment outside of Japan. |
| Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection | 2021 | PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox One | A compilation of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. |
| Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin | 2022 | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Published by Square Enix. |
| Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty | 2023 | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | |
| Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Liberator of Polar Night | 2023 | PC, Android, iOS | Co-developed with Gust and Akatsuki Games. |
| Rise of the Rōnin | 2024 | PS5, PC | Development assisted by Sony XDEV Studio. PlayStation version published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. |
| Ninja Gaiden II: Black | 2025 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Unreal Engine 5 remaster of Ninja Gaiden II. |
| Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme | 2025 | PC, PS4, PS5 | Only released in Asia. |
| Ninja Gaiden 4 | 2025 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Co-developed with PlatinumGames. Published by Xbox Game Studios. |
| Nioh 3 | 2026 | PS5, PC |