Dead or Alive 3 (Japanese: デッドオアアライブ3, Hepburn: Deddo oa Araibu Surī, abbreviated as DOA3) is a 2001 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox console as one of its launch titles.

The game's story focuses on DOATEC's attempt to create the ultimate human weapon through their Omega Project by capturing and transforming the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan's Hajin Mon leader, Genra, into an evil superhuman called Omega.

Some tweaks have been added to the game system in the form of increased counter periods, unrestricted 3D-axis movement, and less emphasis on juggling combos.

The game incorporated less damage percentiles in counter hold maneuvers, making players rely more on blows and throws to defeat opponents.

The game adds a new feature in its Sparring mode called "Exercise", an automatic command tutorial that teaches players how to perform attacks.

Tag Battle matches are made available to select in the game's Time Attack and Survival modes.

The game also utilizes the Xbox controller's pressure sensitive analog face buttons to allow shortcuts in performing certain moves, making the controls lenient to allow players new to the series to adapt to gameplay, players have the option to turn the analog buttons on or off.

Playable newcomers are Chinese drunken fighter Brad Wong, British assassin Christie, Japanese ninja Hayate (appeared in the roster of the previous title as "Ein"), and German-Japanese karateka Hitomi.

To test the subject Omega's skills, DOATEC announced the third Dead or Alive World Combat Championship.

To prevent Helena from winning, Donovan hires a British assassin named Christie to keep an eye on her, and kill her if necessary.

Eventually, Hajin Mon's Ayane wins the third Dead or Alive tournament and kills Genra.

The Xbox was still in development, and Microsoft was in need of exclusive, high-profile games to show off the technical capability of their product.

This deal also fit in with series creator Tomonobu Itagaki's design philosophy of always targeting the most powerful console available for the development of Dead or Alive games.

Itagaki accepted the offer as he noted how the specs of Xbox were much higher and more powerful than other systems such as the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast.

An updated version of Dead or Alive 3 was then released for the Japanese and European Xbox launches several months later.

[11][12] The European and Japanese versions of Dead or Alive 3 feature more content such as extra costumes, new attacks for characters, gameplay tweaks, and a new cinematic introduction for the game.

A soundtrack CD for the game, titled Dead or Alive 3 Original Sound Trax (KWCD-1006), was released by Wake Up in 2002.

[25] Anthony Chau of IGN gave Dead or Alive 3 a 9.4 out of 10, stating that it "represents the new standard of excellence that only the Xbox can deliver", praising the game for its great attention to detail and its vast improvements on its predecessor.

[29] The staff of 1Up.com agreed with this sentiment saying: "There is very little here that we would describe as new, original or subtle; where Soul Calibur painted a fighting masterpiece, DOA3 portrays something more akin to the latest Bruckheimer production.

[33] ActionTrip rated it 94 out of 100, stating how Dead or Alive 3 truly excels in its variety of fighting styles and different moves and that "any self-respecting beat-em-up fan should own this game".

[43] John Valor of Cloudchaser praised Dead or Alive 3's full utilization of the Xbox controller with such ease, calling it "an incredible achievement".

[44] The Electric Playground called Dead or Alive 3 "The true King of Fighters", and "a perfect showcase for what kind of games the Xbox is able to deliver".

NextGen ranked it as the 59th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country.

Combined sales of Dead or Alive fighting games released in the 2000s reached 1.3 million units in the U.S. by July 2006.

[60][61] Dead or Alive 3's popularity led to the creation of the largest and oldest Dead or Alive community website, Free Step Dodge, while the sidestepping mechanic in the European and Japanese versions of the game inspired the naming of the community site.