Like their male ninja counterparts in the "Mortal Kombat" games, Kitana, Mileena and Jade evolved considerably from their original palette swaps in the three-dimensional titles, receiving distinct new designs and other features. John Vogel, who worked on story and animations for "Deception", said "the approach we've taken for Jade in this game is that she's more of stealthy ninja type of character. She's the one who sneaks around and gets information, and carries out covert activities." For "Mortal Kombat X", from which Jade was initially excluded, her special attacks were given to Kitana for her "Mournful" gameplay variation, described in the game as Kitana paying tribute to "her fallen best friend" by "employing the weapons of the deceased master assassin."