Dead or alive was at one point one of the most popular fighting game franchises on the market, alongside its peers Street fighter, Tekkenand Deadly battle. When the first installment of the series was released internationally for arcades in 1996, it took the gaming world by storm. In fact, the game sold so well that it saved publisher Tecmo from bankruptcy. Later contributions to Dead or alive franchise was also a similar commercial success. Dead or alive 3for example, was one of the top 10 best-selling games on the original Xbox Dead or alive 4 and its free counterparts have been downloaded more than 12 million times.
The Dead or alive The series isn't technically over, but it hasn't gotten a new main installment for quite some time. The last real fighting game in the franchise was in 2019 Dead or alive 6which earned a rather controversial reputation among fans due to excessive monetization. Apart from the occasional Asia-exclusive additional titles such as Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Scarlet and Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Extremethe franchise's lead developer, Team Ninja, has largely shifted its focus to other intellectual property over the past few years. That being said, some recent news regarding Koei Tecmo, the Japanese firm that owns Team Ninja, indicates that the next chapter Dead or alive may happen sooner rather than later.

Relatives
Tekken 8 director makes pleas for Dead or Alive crossover
Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada responds to fan requests to add a guest character from Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja's Dead or Alive series.
The Dead or Alive series could be revived thanks to a new strategy by Koei Tecmo
Koei Tecmo wants to ditch mobile games and double down on AAA releases
During a shareholder Q&A session, Koei Tecmo shared its vision for the future of the gaming industry and its plans to adapt to market trends. One of the main topics the company discussed at the event was mobile games. While Koei Tecmo isn't a major player in the mobile gaming market, it has recently adapted several of its flagship franchises for iOS and Android, including Atelier, Nobunaga's ambitionsand A novel of three kingdoms. Despite these efforts, Koei Tecmo intends to reduce its investment in mobile games because, according to the firm, “significant growth is unlikely” in this area.
Instead of trying to increase its presence in the mobile gaming market, Koei Tecmo wants to double down on AAA video game development. Thanks to the recent success of big-budget video games from China and Korea (allegedly Black Myth: Ukun and Star bladeamong other titles), Koei Tecmo believes that the market for console and computer games will grow in the near future. Because of this, it tends to release AAA video games on an annual basis. To achieve this lofty goal, the company intends to double the number of employees from 2,500 to 5,000 in the coming years.
Bringing back Dead or Alive makes sense given Koei Tecmo's current plans
Considering how much new interest Koei Tecmo is showing in the AAA gaming market, the release of a new core line Dead or alive game seems more likely than ever. In fact, a recent statement from developer Team Ninja lends even more credence to this idea. In a February 2024 interview with TouchArcade. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty director Masakazu Hirayama was asked if Koei Tecmo was interested in a revival Dead or alive franchise. While Hirayama said the company had no plans to bring back the series at the time, he said it was “always considering” doing more Dead or alive games.
The fighting game genre is experiencing a bit of a revival right now, thanks in no small part to the release of critically acclaimed games like this Tekken 8, Street fighter 6and Guilty Gear Strive. Since Koei Tecmo is so committed to expanding its presence in the AAA market, it would be wise for them to take advantage of this resurgence by bringing Dead or alive the series returns with a new, numbered installment.