New Dead Or Alive Project Has Been Announced

During PlayStation's February State of Play, which had a good handful of surprises. Perhaps one that brings a sense of joy and excitement to the fighting game community was learning that the Dead or Alive series is being revived with a brand new game. Announced in development for the PlayStation 5 (time will tell to learn if it will be a console exclusive), it's a timely return for DOA, as its 30th anniversary is later this November. The series launched originally in arcades in 1996 in Japan.

The trailer is brief, showcasing Ryu Hayabusa and main character Kasumi sparring. Team Ninja does not specify if this is a DOA 7, or a complete reboot of the series.

DEAD OR ALIVE 6 LAST ROUND ANNOUNCEMENT

A new DOA game in the works wasn't the only announcement to celebrate the 30th anniversary. Along with comes the resurrection of DOA 6 in the form of a Dead or Alive 6: Last Round. This is certainly surprising, but it is a welcome one, nonetheless, giving the maligned game a chance to reacquaint itself with fans and fighting game players. Dead or Alive 6: Last Round will revamp the photo op mode, introduce PlayStation 5 upgrades, introduce more DLC costumes and characters in an aim to make it a more definitive fighting game. Likely due to licensing issues, the King of Fighters crossover characters Kula Diamond and Mai Shiranui are not currently a part of the roster. This may likely be due to the MiSK ownership of SNK, which happened after the launch of DOA 6. The likelihood of these third party characters returning are very low. Mai was also delisted in Dead or Alive 5: Last Round as well.

While Tomonobu Itagaki may not have had anything to do with development of the series after Dead or Alive 4, it feels galvanizing to see Team Ninja honor his legacy with bringing back the series. The late creator and game director passed away towards the end of 2025, hopefully a return to the tournament field will serve his legacy well. Dead or Alive 6 originally launched in 2019, and was not received well. The gameplay was praised, as it was designed to be accessible to new players with the inclusion of Fatal Rush (a quick combo executed by simply pressing one button) and Break Hold, a reversal mechanic.

The issues stemmed from the nature of fighting games during this period which led to a public relations backlash; fighters were chasing the eSports trend. Dead or Alive toned down the sex appeal of its sixth entry (mostly meaning less emphasis of the jiggle physics of the female character's breasts and less revealing outfits being the default selection) to make it more marketable to potential streaming or advertising partners. It seemed more tone def from Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja, leading to fans of the game feeling alienated. Even beyond the marketing misfire, Dead or Alive 6 lacked robust multiplayer features. even with the marketing of the free-to-play digital option of the Core Fighters, the game's roadmap and DLC plans were seemingly scrapped by 2021, and its future as a fighting game franchise remained in limbo for six years.

Dead or Alive 6: Last Round launches June 26th 2026 for the PlayStation 5