Girls of DOA BlackJack - the Kasumi version -

• Title — Dead or Alive Xtreme • Platforms — Xbox, Xbox 360, iOS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 • Developer — Team Ninja • Publisher — Tecmo, Koei Tecmo • Genre — * Beach volleyball game • Minigame compilation • Dating sim • Sports management • First Release Version — Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball • First Release Date — January 22, 2003 • Latest Release Version — Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme • Latest Release Date — March 27, 2025 • Parent — Dead or Alive • Creator — Tomonobu Itagaki

During the development of Dead or Alive 2, director Tomonobu Itagaki heard that fans wanted mini games on Dead or Alive games akin to other fighting games of the era. Instead of adding them to the main series however, he developed the concept into a standalone minigame compilation with emphasis on beach volleyball. Itagaki said the key word to describe the spin-off, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, was "paradise" and that the game took into account Japanese sensitivities for its portrayal of beauty, sex-appeal, and humor. In Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, Itagaki sought to refine and expand on gameplay elements of the first game. With Dead or Alive Xtreme starting to become its own series, Team Ninja treated the development of the sequel as serious as the jump from Dead or Alive to Dead or Alive 2. In addition, to help expand the game's global appeal Xtreme 2 added English voiceovers. After Itagaki's departure, Tecmo Koei put together a one-off team called Project Venus to develop Dead or Alive Paradise, a modified port of Xtreme 2 to the PlayStation Portable. Director Yoshinori Ueda said that the new staff wanted to maintain the level of quality the series was known for while also being more open to player feedback. Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 was teased at the "Dead or Alive Festival" event in late 2015. Later, official Koei Tecmo social media confirmed the game's existence and its exclusivity to Japanese and Asian markets. Producer Yosuke Hayashi said that this was due to the main Dead or Alive series being overwhelmingly more popular internationally with Xtreme fans being more numerous in Japan. Innovations over previous games in the series include a new graphics engine with an improved breast physics engine, iterated from the one used in Dead or Alive 5. A debate arose over Koei Tecmo's decision to skip Western markets, with claims of self-censorship or the move being a publicity stunt. Factors that might have contributed to the decision include: changes in the Western gaming landscape, a change in marketing approach after Koei took over publishing of the series, cultural differences, and diminishing sales over time. Post-release, a PlayStation VR DLC was added in early 2017 and an updated re-release followed in 2019. After the release of Xtreme 3, Hayashi noticed that one of the trailers became the most watched video on Koei Tecmo's YouTube channel. Despite reaching 1.6 million views, this did not translate into initial sales of that magnitude. To bring the series to that audience that could not play but was nevertheless interested, Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation was conceived as a free-to-play game for PC. Venus Vacation switched genres to a sports management game to accommodate people used to mobile and browser games. It also aimed to introduce characters that were not fighters and wouldn't fit the mold of a traditional Dead or Alive game. For this reason, all characters added post-release (with the exception of Leifang and Tina) have been original to Venus Vacation. Director Yasunori Sakuda commented that it was difficult to reintroduce existing characters to the spin-off due to their established relationships in the mainline games. Conversely, it was much easier for him to create characters from scratch whose stories had a deeper focus with the player. Seven years after Venus Vacation started operation, (now producer) Yasunori Sakuda determined that the live service game model had made it difficult for new players to jump in. Also, that the engine was becoming graphically dated after nearly a decade of use. To provide players a starting point to Venus Vacation and employ newer technology, the spin-off dating sim Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme was developed as a standalone game for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC.