Companies & Studios

Team Ninja

Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden

Team Ninja developed Dead or Alive and revived Ninja Gaiden under Tomonobu Itagaki before expanding into collaborative projects with other franchises.

arcadesony-playstation-2xboxxbox-360playstation-4developertecmoaction1995

Tecmo’s action specialists. Team Ninja formed around Dead or Alive development and became synonymous with technical excellence and demanding difficulty. Under Itagaki’s direction, they revived Ninja Gaiden to critical acclaim. Post-Itagaki, the studio expanded beyond their core franchises, collaborating on Nioh, Fire Emblem Warriors, and other projects.

Fast facts

  • Founded: 1995.
  • Parent: Tecmo (now Koei Tecmo).
  • Founder: Tomonobu Itagaki.
  • Post-Itagaki: Yosuke Hayashi.

Dead or Alive series

Title Year Platform
Dead or Alive 1996 Arcade
DOA2 1999 Multi
DOA5 2012 Multi
DOA6 2019 Multi

Ninja Gaiden revival

Title Year Reception
Ninja Gaiden 2004 Acclaimed
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2007 PS3 port
Ninja Gaiden 3 2012 Mixed

Expanded portfolio

Title Year Type
Nioh 2017 Souls-like
Fire Emblem Warriors 2017 Musou
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 2019 Action RPG

Studio evolution

Era Focus
Itagaki (1995-2008) DOA, Ninja Gaiden
Hayashi (2008+) Expanded collaborations
Modern Diverse output

See also

Not yet fact-checked. This entry was drafted by an AI and nobody has verified it. The dates, figures and technical details may be wrong. Use it to find your bearings, then confirm anything that matters against a primary source.