The game primarily follows a new character named Yakumo, though series' protagonist Ryu Hayabusa is also playable and has a significant role in the story.

The veteran Ryu Hayabusa serves as a "major challenge and growth milestone" for Yakumo, while also being playable throughout the story, utilizing similar moveset and tools to his earlier appearances.

As a result of a close relationship between the president of Koei Tecmo, Hisashi Koinuma, and the CEO of PlatinumGames, Atsushi Inaba, the two companies began exploring collaboration possibilities.

With the support from Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, they started work on a brand new Ninja Gaiden title.

The company previously released Ninja Gaiden II (2008) for Xbox 360 and worked with PlatinumGames on the cancelled action role-playing game Scalebound.