The future of the Ninja Gaiden franchise is uncertain right now. Team Ninja is currently too busy with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and the PlayStation-exclusive Rise of the Ronin to do anything with their classic franchises, but there’s no reason why they couldn’t outsource a new Ninja Gaiden game to a different developer according to Wo Long director Fumihiko Yasuda.
Could there be a new Ninja Gaiden game?
Team Ninja is aware that the Ninja Gaiden franchise has a big fan base. Yasuda told VGC that they still “have a desire to please those fans” and “there is that feeling of wanting to create a new entry in those series.” The problem is that there aren’t the resources within the current team to be compatible with a new Ninja Gaiden game. However, when asked if they could give the franchise to a younger internal team or even outsource the franchise to a new developer altogether, Yasuda seemed quite keen on the idea:
We’re not announcing anything, but both of those ideas sound like great plans and are both possibilities in a sense. Those are both very, very reasonable ideas for potentially a sequel in any series, not just Ninja Gaiden. But what I want to say is, if we were to theoretically work with another company on a new Ninja Gaiden title, we would need to make sure that it would be a title that the fans would really enjoy and exceed their expectations.
Yasuda did add that whichever team did end up making a new game would “really need to fit the Ninja Gaiden pedigree”, so it won’t be handed over to the first people that ask. Regardless of what the decision about Ninja Gaiden may be, Yasuda still hopes “to deliver some good news one day.”
In other news, the GTA 6 hacker has pleaded not guilty to Computer Misuse criminal charges. Elsewhere, the Kena: Bridge of Spirits Anniversary Update has been released today on PS5 and PS4.