Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is an expanded version of Dead or Alive 5 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It includes the new features from Dead or Alive 5 Plus, as well as new/returning characters and stages.

The game was released in September 2013. An arcade version will be released in Japan in Winter 2013.

Pre-Release
On April 28, 2013, a new Dead or Alive 5 project for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and was teased. The trailer revealed the addition of Momiji and a Ninja Gaiden themed stage, Sky City Tokyo.

On May 7, the name of the new game was revealed to be Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate. The game will be released in September 2013, and will include the new additions from Dead or Alive 5 Plus, including the tutorial mode, custom soundtracks, and new costumes. On May 9, another new trailer showed a battle between Kasumi and Momiji. At the end, there is a snippet of Leon in the desert. On May 21st, Famitsu revealed the return of Ein, the addition of Virtua Fighter's Jacky Bryant, and the Lost World stage from Dead or Alive 3. New screenshots released May 23rd also showed the return of the Forest stage.

On June 3rd, it was clarified that Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will not be able to fight against the original DOA5 or Plus online, because of new moves such as the Power Launcher and changes to netcode. A new trailer shown June 11th confirmed Leon and the Desert Wasteland stage, Rachel from Ninja Gaiden and the new Aircraft Carrier stage, and many new costumes. After revealing Leon and Rachel, Ultimate's roster has been fully announced. On June 23rd, it was confirmed that the Custom Soundtrack will also include BGM from Dead or Alive 2 and 3 (in addition to 4 and 5 in Plus), and that online 2v2 Tag Mode will be included.

On July 18th, Famitsu revealed the return of Team Battle Mode with maximum 7v7 matches, a more detailed tutorial mode, and additional content for Survival Mode (item drops and health recovery).

Returning from Dead or Alive 5

 * Akira Yuki (Guest character)
 * Alpha-152
 * Ayane
 * Bass Armstrong
 * Bayman
 * Brad Wong
 * Christie
 * Eliot
 * Gen Fu
 * Hayate
 * Helena Douglas
 * Hitomi
 * Jann Lee
 * Kasumi
 * Kokoro
 * La Mariposa
 * Leifang
 * Mila
 * Pai Chan (Guest character)
 * Rig
 * Ryu Hayabusa
 * Sarah Bryant (Guest character)
 * Tina Armstrong
 * Zack

New in Ultimate

 * Ein - Hayate's alter-ego. He awakened in a German forest and was taken in by a karate master and his daughter, Hitomi. He soon realized his true identity as Hayate, Kasumi's brother, having been a test subject of "Project Epsilon".
 * Jacky Bryant - Guest character from Virtua Fighter.  Sarah Bryant's older brother. When J6 targeted Sarah, he resolved to take them down in order to protect his sister. He takes part in a new battle as he collects info to prepare for a showdown with J6.
 * Leon - A former Sambo and now Close Quarters Combat practitioner from Italy.
 * Momiji - The young apprentice of Ryu Hayabusa and the sole Dragon Shrine Maiden. She looks up to Ryu Hayabusa and has acquired techniques through ninja training. She joins the tournament in order to put what she has learned to the test.
 * Rachel - The half-fiend, half-human, fiend hunter who is close friends with Ryu.

All characters are unlocked from the start. The new characters don't have their own chapters in Story Mode. The upcoming arcade release will add another character.

Returning from Dead or Alive 5

 * Arrival
 * Dead or Alive
 * Depth
 * Dojo
 * The Ends of the Earth
 * Fighting Entertainment
 * Flow
 * Fuel
 * Home
 * Hot Zone
 * Lab
 * Primal
 * Sanctuary
 * Sakura
 * Scramble
 * The Show
 * Street
 * Sweat
 * Temple of the Dragon
 * Zack Island

New in Ultimate

 * Aircraft Carrier - A tag stage on the deck of a giant aircraft carrier.
 * Desert Wasteland - The desert remnants of an abandoned city, similar to the outside area of the Rub' al Khali desert stage of Ninja Gaiden 3 (2012).
 * Forest - A Japanese forest in Autumn, returns from Dead or Alive 3.
 * Lost World - An infinite stage with stone pillars and waterfalls, returns from Dead or Alive 3.
 * Sky City Tokyo - The first stage of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Tokyo in the near-future.

Costumes

 * Main article: DOA5/Alternate Outfit Datasheets

DLC
Downloadable content purchased for Dead or Alive 5 will work in Ultimate. Some costumes that were previously DLC are included as unlockables:
 * Costume Pack Round 1
 * Costume Pack Round 2: Kitty Pack, What a Character, Special Set
 * Costume Pack Round 4: Angels, Devils, DOATEC Divas
 * Costume Pack Round 5: China Pack, Special Set 3, Formal Wear
 * Costume Pack Round 9: Fighter Pack

Preorders of the Japanese version included a new set of pop idol costumes, chosen by popular vote. All preorders included Team D (Kasumi and Ayane), and depending on the retailer, either Team O (Hitomi, Kokoro, Leifang and Mila) or Team A (Christie, Helena, Lisa, Momiji, Rachel and Tina). In North America, preorders from GameStop included Teams D and A, while Amazon included Team O.

The Japanese Collector's Edition includes fourteen new swimsuits for characters.

New in Ultimate

 * Akira: VF5 costume D.
 * Alpha-152: Dark purple.
 * Ayane:
 * NG3RE "Infiltrator" costume.
 * NGS2 "Blossom of Miyama" costume.
 * Bass: (Mr. Strong) Silver and blue spiked wrestling outfit.
 * Bayman: DOA1 outfit with green beret, brown t-shirt.
 * Brad: Cowboy outfit in green and brown.
 * Christie: Policewoman's uniform in black.
 * Eliot: Black hoodie with cat ears, red-and-black striped top.
 * Gen Fu: DOA1 yellow Hawaiian shirt, beige shorts, sandals, straw hat and sunglasses.
 * Hayate: Masked black ninja outfit with white scarf.
 * Helena: Beige "DOATEC" uniform.
 * Hitomi:
 * Signature denim jacket and jeans, shown with a ponytail.
 * Sleeveless white blouse with beige skirt, thigh-high argyle socks.
 * Jann Lee: DOA1 white suit with red tie.
 * Kasumi:
 * Blue argyle sweater and beige skirt.
 * DOA1 red and white ninja outfit.
 * Kokoro:
 * White tank top with black skirt, gloves and boots. Shown with side ponytail.
 * DOA4 white tank top, brown skirt and boots, yellow scarf.
 * Leifang:
 * Orange-and-white striped dress with pigtails.
 * Blue-and-white striped blouse, beige skirt.
 * Lisa: Nurse's uniform in white.
 * Mila: Red jacket with white t-shirt, white "Victoria" visor, and denim shorts.
 * Pai: VF5 costume D, shown with short hair.
 * Rig: Shirtless, black bandanna, black-and-grey striped pants.
 * Ryu Hayabusa: NG3RE "Spirit of the Fighter" costume.
 * Sarah: VF5 costume D.
 * Tina:
 * Signature DOA2 silver and black wrestling outfit.
 * White top, black shorts and boots, black "DOA" cap.
 * Zack: Light blue hoodie, black cap and sunglasses, jeans.

Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate Collaboration Costumes
Those who purchase first-print versions of the game Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate will receive a downloadable serial code for Warriors Orochi-inspired costumes for the following characters: As there is no Xbox 360 version of Musou Orochi 2 Ultimate, these costumes will be available later on the Japanese Xbox Marketplace. There is no word yet on if/when they will be available outside of Japan.
 * Kasumi dressed as Gracia.
 * Ayane dressed as Wang Yuanji.
 * Momiji dressed as Sanzang.

Releases
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate is available as both a retail title and digital download.

Core Fighters
A free-to-play version titled Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters is available on the PlayStation Store. Players are limited to four characters; Kasumi, Ayane, Ryu Hayabusa, and Hayate. The rest can be purchased for $3.99 each, or as a bundle for $34.99.

All modes are available, except for Story Mode, which can be purchased for $14.99. Players of Core Fighters are able to fight against those with the full version in online matches. There are no plans to make this available on Xbox 360.

Japanese Collector's Edition
The standard Japanese Collector's Edition retails for ¥11,340, and includes "Ultimate Sexy Costumes" download code for fourteen characters, the DEAD OR ALIVE 5 Original Soundtrack vol.3 CD, and a "Kasumi-chan Blue" mousepad.

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate Arcade
It has recently been announced that in Japan, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will be made available in arcades. It will run on Sega's RingEdge 2 hardware, and be distributed digitally through the ALL.NET+ Multi Ver. 2 network. This will be the first arcade release for the series since Dead or Alive 2 Millennium in January 2000. This version will also include a new character. It is currently unknown if the arcade version will be released in other regions outside of Japan.

Reception
Before the game's release, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate was given "Best Fighting Game" by PSU's Gamescom 2013 Awards.

The Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the game a 34/40 score (9/9/8/8), two points less than the original.

Trivia

 * In the Dead or Alive 5 alpha demo, the lifebars were silver. The final release changed them to blue. In Ultimate they are changed again, to gold.
 * One of the new additions is a random select for costumes.
 * With a grand total of twenty-nine, and thirty in the upcoming arcade version, Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate has the most playable characters in the entire series.