Publisher 110 Industries and Soleil, a game development studio comprised of Team Ninja veterans who worked on both the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises, has announced Wanted: Dead, a new third-person fast-action game for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC set in a low-tech sci-fi version of Hong Kong that will allow you to master combat with both guns and melee weapons. The team cites Bayonetta and Devil May Cry as inspirations. Wanted: Dead also includes “an in-depth investigative side where players must analyze evidence and dive into real police work.”
Key members of the team include former Team Ninja employees that left Tecmo with Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki in 2008. All senior developers that worked on Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden II, DOA, DOA2 and Xtreme Beach Volleyball including producer Yoshifuru Okamoto, director Hiroaki Matsui, and lead planner Natsuki Tsurugai. See the uncensored Wanted: Dead announcement trailer above and the first several screenshots below.
As Lt. Hannah Stone, head of the “Zombie Squad” that operates outside of the normal purview of the police, players will have the choice of whether to engage enemies up close with melee attacks (including “a limb-severing mechanic that changes enemy attack patterns”) or bring them down from afar with guns. As you can see in the uncensored trailer above, Wanted: Dead definitely shows its Ninja Gaiden roots in addition to its Bayonetta and Devil May Cry influences.
There is no release date as of yet as from simply “2022,” but stay tuned to IGN for much more on Wanted: Dead in the coming months.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.