Reports say Microsoft planned to shut or sell Ninja Theory before revealing Senua

Senua was revealed at the Xbox showcase despite plans to spin off the team making it

Earlier this week, it was reported that Microsoft was planning to close, or spin out, Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and potential other studios as part of a round of layoffs and studio closures. Now, a report suggests that Microsoft knew it planned to close Ninja Theory before the studio announced its new Hellblade game, Senua, during the Xbox Games Showcase just ten days ago. According to Stephen Totilo's Game File, Microsoft "had already planned to sunset or split" with Ninja Theory by the time Senua's trailer debuted, thinking that a newly announced game would "draw investor interest." Totilo notes that it's unclear whether anyone in Ninja Theory's leadership team was involved with, or even aware of, that plan. The report follows a bumper interview that Xbox Wire published about Senua, in which it said, "The original Hellblade famously ended with the line, 'There are more stories to tell.' Senua feels like Ninja Theory has expanded that to a philosophy of, 'There are new kinds of games to make.'" Ninja Theory studio head Dom Matthews also noted that the gap between Hellblade 2 and Senua being small is deliberate. "It’s not about rushing something out the door--we would never do that--but we want to ship games." https://youtu.be/H2eP2xtTEzw It began with Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's "reset" memo, which noted that Xbox has spent over $20 billion on ongoing investments, but that the annual revenue has declined almost half a billion in the same time. "Going forward, this cannot continue," Sharma said. That was followed immediately by Xbox Game Studios boss Craig Duncan stepping down. While Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Compulsion are all reportedly in talks with Microsoft over potential buyouts, the studios will need investment to go independent if those negotiations are successful. Alongside those imminent threats, it remains to be seen whether Ninja Theory would even be permitted to take its Hellblade franchise with it wherever it goes. When Microsoft closed Lionhead, there was investment interest, but those talks didn't amount to anything since Microsoft was unwilling to let the Fable name go. It remains unclear what the future holds for the studios facing closure. There's a sliver of hope in the fact that Microsoft appears to be hoping for investors to buy the studios rather than shuttering them entirely, but only time will tell if that approach is successful.

Microsoft had reportedly already planned to shut down or spin off Ninja Theory when the studio announced its next game, Senua, at Xbox Games Showcase in June. The company reportedly believed that announcing a new game would help the studio attract new investment and split from Xbox.

Hellblade developers Ninja Theory are one of the numerous Microsoft-owned studios currently facing a very uncertain future, as the company look to either spin off or shutter a bunch of the developers under the Xbox banner. In Ninja Theory's case, the news that their existence hangs in the balance was made even more jarring by the fact they'd revealed a new game, Senua, earlier this month at Xbox's summer showcase. According to a fresh report, however, Microsoft had already decided they were going to kill or part with the studio prior to Senua's reveal, with that showing aimed - at least in the eyes of Xbox execs - at trying to boost the chances of Ninja Theory attracting some new investors. Read more

Microsoft had already planned to close Hellblade studio Ninja Theory before they revealed their latest game according to reports, as fears of widespread Xbox layoffs mount. 

Xbox had decided to sell the studio before reveal.Microsoft allowed Ninja Theory to announce a new title in Senua while preparing to either shut it down or sell it off, and according to Game File journalist Stephen Totilo, that was all part of its plan.As part of a deep dive article covering the news of Xbox plans to rid itself of Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Compulsion, it's said that by the time Senua was revealed in the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, it had already been decided that Ninja Theory would be let go.Read the full article on pushsquare.com