The series was created by its original director and producer Tomonobu Itagaki after he became a programmer for Tecmo, which was in need of a hit to boost sagging game sales.
After Tecmo's classic (but at that time long dormant) Ninja Gaiden series was revived in 2004 by Itagaki and Team Ninja, they began linking it back with Dead or Alive, setting the franchises within the same universe with overlapping characters and events.