a complete reboot of the series and did not continue the canon of any previous Ninja Gaiden titles, the developers were free to do with the universe and its characters as it saw fit, and so the game was implemented into the DOA universe by being set up as a prequel to the first DOA. In addition, Ninja Gaiden protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, who had already been on the roster of every DOA fighting game since the beginning, plays a major role in that series' overarching storyline, which has been fleshed out during the development of the subsequent Ninja Gaiden titles. Having featured Ryu in most of Dead or Alive games during a development of Ninja Gaiden reboot, Team Ninja then included the character Ayane and Kasumi in most of Ninja Gaiden games. Conversely, several characters from DOA have roles in the rebooted Ninja Gaiden series, initially only appearing during story sequences but becoming fully playable characters in special modes in later games. Rachel and Momiji, characters originating from the Ninja Gaiden series, appear in updated versions of Dead or Alive 5. Before his departure from Team Ninja, Itagaki stated in 2006 that he had a new DOA game planned, but in a 2008 interview he said about the series: "This is another area that my closest colleagues and I all agree that we were able to achieve the definitive fighting game with DOA4. So we're not looking to extend the series at this point." In a released statement on June 3, 2008, Itagaki announced his resignation from Tecmo (July 1, 2008) due to business troubles with then president of Tecmo, Yoshimi Yasuda. Itagaki stated that this would unfortunately lead to the end of production for the game and its series. However, Tecmo replied with the announcement that Team Ninja would not be dissolved upon Itagaki's departure, stating that both the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises would remain in production and that some projects were already underway. As of 2016, the series continues two decades in, making it one of the longest-running fighting game franchises to still receive new installments. Dead or Alive Paradise was the first DOA console game not developed by Team Ninja. Dead or Alive 5 was created in partnership with Sega AM2 of Virtua Fighter fame, featuring several guest characters from that series. Games Main series Updated versions Compilations Spin-offs Cancelled Film adaptation A feature