Franchise: Dead or Alive

The series gets it's name from a wager that the lead programer, Tomonobu Itagaki, made with the head of Tecmo. Itagaki assured the president he would create a video game that would garner a competent fan base. He named the series "Dead or Alive" to demonstrate that the company's future rested on the game's success.

The inspiration for the series derived from Fatal Fury for its fast gameplay and sexual appeal, and Mortal Kombat for its ability to knock opponents off multi-level landscapes.

Bass and Tina's father-daughter relationship shares similarities to that of the one between former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan and his daughter Brooke Hogan. Hulk Hogan was known to be very protective of his daughter in spite of her efforts to be more independent, which is often portrayed in their stage personas and public appearances. Also like Tina, Brooke has pursued careers outside of pro-wrestling; including modeling, acting, and music.

A game called Dead or Alive: Code Chronos was in development for the Xbox 360. The game would have been a prequel to the series and would relay the story of Ayane and Kasumi before the first tournament. However, the progress of Code Chronos came to a halt due to Itagaki's dispute with Tecmo. In 2010, the project was then confirmed canceled by the current head of Team Ninja, Yosuke Hayashi.

A promotional image advertising Dead or Alive 4 featured an ad for Code Chronos in the bottom-right corner.