Is Ninja Gaiden 4 on Xbox Game Pass?
Yes, Ninja Gaiden 4 is available to play through Xbox Game Pass on both Xbox and PC at launch, with PC Game Pass giving access to it on the latter and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate providing it on both. Notably, Xbox Game Pass Premium subscribers will also get access within the next year.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is on Xbox Game Pass at launch
Not counting remasters like this year's Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, it's been a long, long 13 years since the last mainline entry in the legendary action-adventure franchise. The hack-and-slash series has a legacy that stretches all the way back to the arcades of 1988, so it's been quite frustrating for its fans that such a long time has passed without a follow-up to 2012's Ninja Gaiden 3.
However, at long last, that wait is now over thanks to the arrival of Ninja Gaiden 4 — a highly anticipated sequel created by a coalition of Team Ninja (Nioh, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty) and PlatinumGames (NieR: Automata, Bayonetta) developers backed by publishing from Microsoft and Xbox Game Studios.
The title has reviewed very well across its Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5 platforms, and has brought Ninja Gaiden back into the spotlight after years of relative obscurity. We've conducted our own review of the game as well here at Windows Central, with Executive Editor Jez Corden awarding it a strong score of 4/5 stars.
In his review, he wrote that Ninja Gaiden 4 "is a very strong entry in a year that has enjoyed many high profile ninja titles, from Shinobi, to Ghost of Yotei, to Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound itself. It doesn't reinvent the franchise's formula, instead respecting the franchise's strongest entries with a sprinkling of Platinum on top for good measure."
Indeed, light on story (as well as quality story delivery) as it is, Ninja Gaiden 4 has won huge amounts of praise from critics and fans alike for its blisteringly brutal and visceral melee combat, complete with tons of flashy combos, dodges, parries, weapons to wield, fighting styles, and more.
On top of that, the game has a high skill ceiling on its harder difficulties, giving those that enjoy a challenge on to revel in as they hone their lethality and become the ultimate ninja warrior. It also sports terrific overall variety and visual presentation, with protagonist Yakumo driven to battle everything from gruesome beasts of corruption to cybernetically enhanced shinobi in a near-future, cyberpunk-like Tokyo.
All of this together has made Ninja Gaiden 4 an exciting new title for franchise veterans and newcomers alike — and as a result of that, plenty of people want to know if they can check it out through Microsoft's all-you-can-play Xbox Game Pass service.
I'm happy to say there's good news: Ninja Gaiden 4 is available on Xbox Game Pass at launch, including through the $29.99 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (Xbox, PC, Xbox Cloud Gaming) and the $16.49 PC Game Pass (PC only). Additionally, it will also be included in the $14.99 Xbox Game Pass Premium tier within one year.
The only tier of Game Pass it won't come to is the $9.99 Xbox Game Pass Essential, which only includes a select few titles and is largely intended for console players that want the most affordable access to online multiplayer they can get.
How else can you play Ninja Gaiden 4?
Ninja Gaiden 4 may be on Xbox Game Pass, but using Microsoft's service to play it isn't your only option. Across all of its platforms — Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Xbox app, Steam), and PS5 — you can also purchase a copy to permanently own for $69.99.
While this costs considerably more than subscribing to PC Game Pass or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for a month to play the game and then canceling your membership, it will likely be worth doing if you care about having the option to replay a single player title like this in the future.
Something important to note is that thanks to a sweet deal, you can get the Xbox version of Ninja Gaiden 4 for just $56.39 at Loaded (formerly CDKeys) right now. That's an awesome discount to get on a game that just came out, and since it supports Xbox Play Anywhere, you can play it on both Xbox and PC with full cross-progression.
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