The Dead or Alive universe is rater multi-faceted, including the main series and the spin-off Dead or Alive Xtreme. Recently, Koei Tecmo released the free-to-play PC game Dead or Alive Xtreme: Venus Vacation in collaboration with DMM, and three completely new characters were introduced, Misaki, Luna, and Tamaki.

Of course, we've been asking ourselves about their relation with the mainline series, and whether they will appear in Dead or Alive 6. So we asked Producer and Director Yohei Shimbori directly during an interview at E3 2018.

Shimbori-san explained that while DMM is taking care of running Xtreme: Venus Vacation, the new characters were designed by Team Ninja. That being said, Venus Vacation is its own special and separate world, and since the three new ladies are not fighters, they won't appear in Dead or Alive 6.

After that, Shimbori-san jokingly added that if they were to join, they'd have to go through combat training.

We also asked whether the team is looking into ways to balance the new shift of the game towards a "cooler" look, with the taste of those who enjoyed the fanservice in the previous titles of the series. Shinbori-san explained that rather than seeking a balance, each character has a different personality: some are cute, while some are more on the sexy side. Yet the aim is to make them look more natural, so the focus of the game is on "cool."

Dead or Alive 6 has been revealed last week and is coming in early 2019. We also got the first details and plenty of 4K screenshots for your viewing pleasure. During an earlier interview, Shinbori-san explained how the team is shifting towards a cooler look for the game compared to previous installments of the franchise.

[Original interview by Lou Contaldi]