Dead or Alive 3 (Japanese: デッドオアアライブ3, Hepburn: Deddo oa Araibu Surī, abbreviated as DOA3) is a 2001 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox console as one of its launch titles. It is the third main entry in the Dead or Alive fighting series. Dead or Alive 3 improved upon the gameplay and graphics in beautiful detail compared to that of its predecessors. The game's story focuses on DOATEC's attempt to create the ultimate human weapon through their Omega Project by capturing and transforming the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan's Hajin Mon leader, Genra, into an evil superhuman called Omega. The ninjas enter the third Dead or Alive tournament to defeat Omega. Dead or Alive 3 was critically acclaimed and a commercial success upon release, selling over 1 million units worldwide in the first five months after its release,[1] and went on to sell over 2 million units,[2][3] becoming the best selling game in the franchise and one of the top 10 best selling Xbox games. The game won several awards and was nominated for many others. The European and Japanese versions were released months later, featuring additional content and gameplay updates that are not featured in the North American version. Dead or Alive 3 would later become backwards compatible on Xbox 360. On November 10, 2021, all versions of Dead or Alive 3 were made available to download from Xbox Live worldwide. On November 15, 2021, all versions were made backward compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.[4] Dead or Alive 3 was later followed by Dead or Alive Ultimate in 2004 and Dead or Alive 4 in 2005.