Report – Xbox is shutting down Ninja Theory, days after announcing their next game

Reports have emerged that Ninja Theory, the studio behind the Hellblade series (including the very, very recently announced Senua) is set to be shut down by Microsoft.

Sources told The Verge that staff were informed on Monday about the studio’s coming closure, though they are hoping to find a buyer for the studio and avoid being shut down entirely. Microsoft did not immediately respond to The Verge’s reporting.

Things are moving very quickly following the initial reports about Xbox game studios potentially shutting down, with Ninja Theory mentioned alongside Compulsion Games and Double Fine as studios that are facing closure. Kotaku reported that Microsoft is set to close down Compulsion, while Bloomberg reported that all three are bargaining for their future away from Xbox.

All of this is coming just days after a swell of positivity for the Xbox brand at Summer Game Fest. The company had reversed the full cross-platform policy during the showcase, confirming that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution are to be full Xbox console exclusives, but just days later, she was revealing a massive slide in profitability and saying that Xbox needs a deep business reset.

Studio closures and layoffs were feared because of this, but the tonal whiplash is massive to see Ninja Theory end up on the chopping block days after their game was announced. Senua was revealed as a much broader action-adventure game to contrast to the very narrative-led Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. That game had take a long time to produce, but Ninja Theory spoke about how this was allowing them to make Senua much more quickly. With a 2027 release target, it would be just three years after Hellblade 2 was released.

Naturally, part of the bargaining process for Ninja Theory will depend on Senua. New buyers would want to be able to take this game and shepherd it through to a release next year. Ninja Theory has also got a huge amount of experience now as a motion capture studio, which is valuable these days.

Fingers crossed for Ninja Theory, then, and we hope to have better news to report in the near future.

Source: The Verge

Tags: Hellblade, Microsoft, Ninja Theory, Senua, Senua's Sacrifice: Hellblade II, Xbox