During the Xbox Developer Direct 2025, Team Ninja and PlatinumGames not only announced that Ninja Gaiden 4 will be released in Fall 2025 but also shadow-dropped a remastered version of Ninja Gaiden 2 called Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. Therefore, players will be able to once again embody the legendary ninja Ryu Hayabusa in the latter and series newcomer Yakumo in the former, Ninja Gaiden 4.
While both of these surprise announcements are boons to Ninja Gaiden fans, they could additionally entice longtime Halo players. With a Halo game announcement of some kind expected to appear later this year, alongside Ninja Gaiden 4’s release, the two franchises should cross over once more to usher in the return of the beloved Hayabusa armor in Halo Infinite and beyond.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Wears its Platinum Games DNA on its Sleeve
Fellow action game developer Platinum Games has joined with Team Ninja to make Ninja Gaiden 4, and its influence is immediately felt.
Halo and Ninja Gaiden’s Long History Explained
Players are likely familiar with Ryu Hayabusa as the protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden series, but he also appears in another long-running Team Ninja franchise: the nearly 30-year-old 3D fighting game series Dead or Alive. Following the widespread success of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, Team Ninja went to Bungie and requested to have Master Chief appear in the next Dead or Alive game.
Instead, Bungie worked with Team Ninja and created a brand new Spartan II, Nicole-458, appearing as an unlockable character in 2005’s Dead or Alive 4 exclusively for the Xbox 360. In this game, players were able to have Nicole-458 battle it out against Hayabusa on a Cairo Station-inspired stage called Nassau Station after completing Dead or Alive 4’s campaign.
Returning the favor for this collaboration, Bungie developed a brand-new set of Spartan II armor based on Ryu Hayabusa, simply called Hayabusa, for players to unlock in 2007’s Halo 3. To unlock every piece of Hayabusa armor, players had to collect all the skulls hidden throughout Halo 3’s campaign and complete 50 achievements to unlock the katana. Rather, the katana was just a simple armor piece and couldn’t be wielded as a weapon. Due to the difficulty of unlocking every piece of Hayabusa armor and the innate cool nature of Japanese-inspired armor, Hayabusa became one of the most popular armor sets in the Halo franchise, even inspiring the hilarious “Oh, Hayabusa!” Song by JT Machinima.
Hayabusa’s Disappearance From the Halo Franchise
Despite Hayabusa’s popularity among Halo players, the armor didn’t return in Halo 3: ODST or Bungie’s final Halo game, Halo: Reach. It’s unknown why Hayabusa didn’t return in games following Halo 3, but many players still requested to see the armor return in future Halo games. When primary development of Halo was shifted over to 343 Industries, this desire to see Hayabusa return was heard and some developers considered bringing the armor to Halo 4.
Concept artist Gabriel Garza created a new GEN2 version of Hayabusa and Liquid Development even created some 3D renders of the armor, but it was never fully implemented for unknown reasons. Hayabusa has only returned in Halo: The Master Chief Collection but had its Japanese legacy continued in Infinite’s Yoroi armor.
In Dead or Alive 4, players can equip alternate color variations of the Mark VI armor for Nicole-458, such as red, blue, white, tan, silver, and black.
The Potential Return of Hayabusa in Halo Infinite and Beyond
With Ryu Hayabusa returning to the gaming spotlight through Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and Ninja Gaiden 4 in 2025, Microsoft, Halo Studios, and Team Ninja should strive to collaborate once more. Given that these two Ninja Gaiden games were first revealed at the Xbox Developer Direct 2025, Microsoft and Team Ninja may be forming a strong relationship together. If this turns out to be the case, Microsoft could request Team Ninja to allow Halo Studios to recreate the Hayabusa armor for Halo Infinite or the next mainline Halo game. Halo 3’s Hayabusa armor could simply be recreated in Halo Infinite, similar to Halo 2’s Master Chief armor, or it could be updated and incorporated into the Yoroi armor core.
Bringing the Hayabusa armor in Halo Infinite or the next mainline Halo game could entice old Halo fans to try out these games after long hiatuses. However, this return doesn’t have to be one-sided. In return for allowing Hayabusa to return to Halo games, Halo Studios could allow Team Ninja to incorporate some Halo elements in Ninja Gaiden 4.
For example, upon completing a certain prerequisite or achievement, Ryu Hayabusa and Yakumo could unlock energy swords to use in Ninja Gaiden 4’s campaign, with Hayabusa using the common blue energy sword and Yakumo using a red energy sword. If the Hayabusa armor does return in Halo games, Team Ninja could even incorporate the armor in Ninja Gaiden 4 as an alternate skin for Ryu Hayabusa.
Ninja Gaiden 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
- Released
- October 21, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Platinum Games, Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo Games Co., Ltd.
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
