Team Ninja front man Tomonobu Itagaki has said that Dead or Alive 4 won't be released until the game is perfect, not wanting to release the game and patch it later.

Speaking to Japanese magazines Dorimaga and Famitsu Xbox 360 prior to the game's announced delay, Itagaki said that Dead or Alive 4 will not be rushed out to retail in an unfinished state, only to be patched later. He said how the "last five percent is the most crucial point in development," and that he "despises" patching a game which has been shipped before being fully complete. He would, however, consider patching the game should a completely unforeseen problem appear.

Itagaki also confirmed that DOA4 will feature a total of 22 characters including Spartan 458, the special character from Halo. He has also said that Elena won't be selectable from the start and will only be unlocked when beating the game with 16 other characters. This will lead to a "grand finale" which Itagaki calls the "true ending" of the game.