Venus Vacation Prism Completes Dead or Alive’s Direction Shift

Koei Tecmo has revealed Venus Vacation Prism – Dead or Alive Xtreme, a new romance adventure game featuring several of the heroines that also appear in the original Venus Vacation free-to-play game. The revelation of this new title also all but confirmed the direction the company is taking for the Dead or Alive series.

When Koei Tecmo first teased the new game’s announcement via its Japanese X account, it used the term “New Venus Vacation Project.” The company eventually retained Dead or Alive Xtreme on the new game’s subtitle, but the fact remains that Venus Vacation has taken over the main spotlight as if to signify that this is the new direction Koei Tecmo will focus on.

The difference in attention Koei Tecmo gave between the original fighting game and the Xtreme spin-offs has been evident in recent years. While the 2012 prequel Dead or Alive 5 enjoyed long-time support with numerous DLC and version updates for several years, the sequel did not live up to the company’s expectations.

Koei Tecmo originally intended for the 2019 mainline entry Dead or Alive 6 to be featured in major tournaments, including EVO. However, the game not making its way to EVO 2019’s title list was one of the major reasons for the company to cease supporting the game after just around a year in 2020.

On the contrary, the 2017 free-to-play spin-off game Venus Vacation is still under active management and even continues receiving new characters as of 2024. Following the addition of Yukino in 2023, the company has since included more original characters in Shizuku, Reika, and Meg.

As a side note, Koei Tecmo has also confirmed a PC Steam release of Venus Vacation Prism with English subtitle support. But if it’s anything like the original Venus Vacation, the game will most likely be region-locked to select countries and territories in Southeast and East Asia, including Japan. In addition, the company has set up an English official site for the title. However, it appears on the company’s Taiwanese website instead of the American or European sites.

Image courtesy of Koei Tecmo

Most of the long-time key staff members are also no longer working at Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja. The likes of Tomonobu Itagaki, Hiroaki Matsui, and Katsunori Ehara had long left the group. Yohei Shimbori, the main person in charge of Dead or Alive 6, also departed Koei Tecmo in 2021.

The latest organizational structure of Team Ninja does not seem to be made to support a possible new Dead or Alive fighting game either. The primary team under Fumihiko Yasuda had made action games like Nioh, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and Rise of the Ronin, but it has also received requests for a new Ninja Gaiden game. And then we have Yasunori Sakuda’s team, which is in charge of not only the Venus Vacation games but also another free-to-play game in Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator.

There may still be a glimmer of hope for a new fighting game since Yosuke Hayashi still remains in the company as one of the last veteran members of Team Ninja. However, Hayashi has since been promoted to vice president of Koei Tecmo Games, and his team has also been more focused on the development of major crossover titles like Hyrule Warriors and Fire Emblem Warriors.

It will take a lot of convincing for Yosuke Hayashi, Team Ninja, and Koei Tecmo to consider a new Dead or Alive fighting game following the sixth entry’s failure. The Xtreme spin-off series—or rather Venus Vacation now—has pretty much taken over the spotlight, so expect the company to focus more on this line for the foreseeable future.

Venus Vacation Prism – Dead or Alive Xtreme will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC in early 2025.

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