Dead or Alive 5 may get more Virtua Fighters

Yesterday, Team Ninja surprised Dead or Alive fans with an appearance by Virtua Fighter 5's Akira in its latest trailer for Dead or Alive 5. Now, studio head Yousuke Hayashi has indicated Sega may be coughing up even more fighters from its competing franchise for the fighting sequel.

The report stems from an interview with Hayashi in this week's Famitsu (via andriasang), wherein the Team Ninja boss said Akira will likely be joined by other Virtua Fighter notables considering the door between developers has already been opened.

The translated chat also implies Hayashi's team all but harassed Sega for permission to use Akira in the first place, so it's also possible he's using his exposure in Famitsu to drum up support for a larger Virtua Fighter/Dead or Alive crossover. As for how Akira will handle in Team Ninja's brawler, Hayashi explained his controls will essentially mirror those of Virtua Fighter.

Dead or Alive 5 is slated to arrive for PS3 and Xbox 360 later this year. Where do you stand a possible Virtua Fighter collaboration? Can the two franchises even get along?

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.