On September 24, 2025, Xbox Design Lab debuted a design for Xbox Series X|S controllers themed after Ninja Gaiden 4, the long-overdue 4th mainline entry in the Ninja Gaiden franchise (via Xbox Wire).
These slick designs incorporate elements of Ninja Gaiden 4’s main characters, Ryu Hayabusa and Yakumo, to form a stylish appearance that is sure to give Ninja Gaiden players a massive confidence boost when taking on this upcoming Xbox title’s lethal death traps and insanely challenging, demonic bosses.
Here’s everything you need to know about this controller.
The Xbox Design Lab Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox controller comes in one of two forms: Xbox Wireless Controller – Ninja Gaiden 4, and Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Ninja Gaiden 4.
Each controller’s top casing is outfitted with an artistic design that blends Ryu Hayabusa’s legendary Red Dragon Katana and new protagonist Yakumo’s blue-handled katana with Yakumo’s Oni mask in the middle to create a striking, manga print-inspired image.
You aren’t just limited to the default designs, either as Xbox Design Lab will let you customize each controller’s button styles and color scheme to accentuate the red and blue textured side grips.
You can even upgrade these controllers with extra add-ons like metallic triggers and D-Pad, rubberized side and back grips, and free 3D-printed adaptive thumbstick topper files.
On top of that, the Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox controllers feature Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth, which will allow you to connect them to an Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, iOS, Android, or a cloud device with relative ease.
As a bonus, the Xbox Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox controllers have a dedicated share button so you can take pictures and video recordings of your most epic moments or brutal boss kills of your Ninja Gaiden 4 playthrough.
The Elite Series 2 variant of the Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox controller is packed with special features you won’t find on a regular Xbox controller. These include shorter hair trigger locks, wrap-around rubberized grips, and adjustable-tension thumbsticks so you can make more precise movements, headshots, and combo attacks with little to no input while you’re slicing and dicing enemies in-game.
You can also customize the Ninja Gaiden 4 Elite Series 2 Xbox Controller with back paddles so you can have buttons to execute shortcut actions for normally complicated maneuvers to make your gaming life easier.
The controller also includes a dedicated middle button, which lets you swap custom button profiles in an instant, and a 3.5mm jack so you can plug in gaming headphones and listen to Ninja Gaiden 4’s electrifying soundtrack.
Never fail to cut down a demon again with Xbox Design Lab’s Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox controller
Never fail to cut down a demon again with Xbox Design Lab’s Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox controller
Xbox Design Lab’s Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox controllers are now available for purchase at the official website, with the Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox Wireless Controller costing $94.98 at retail, while the Ninja Gaiden 4 Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 has an MSRP of $184.98.
I gotta say, these controller designs by Xbox Design Lab look really cool and are a must-have for Ninja Gaiden fans on Xbox, regardless of whether they’re a franchise veteran or a newcomer.
I belong in the latter category as I have only recently gotten into the series after beating the excellent Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, and have been looking forward to playing Ninja Gaiden 4 after reading my colleague, Samuel Tolbert’s, hands-on preview with the game.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is looking to be the series’ epic comeback after being gone for over a decade, with a brutal, bloody combat system rife with complexity, a giant arsenal of deadly weapons to use, insanely challenging enemies to battle, and multiple difficulty options to make it accommodating for newcomers to the Ninja Gaiden franchise.
It’s set to launch on October 21, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam, and I can’t wait to play it with a Ninja Gaiden 4-themed version of one of the best Xbox controllers.
