Ninja Theory – developer of the Hellblade series of games, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry, and Heavenly Sword – is entering consultation in preperation for the studio’s closure as part of today’s sweeping Xbox cuts and layoffs.
Announced by a new Xbox Wire blog post penned by Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty, Ninja Theory employees and Xbox will begin a consultation process as the studio looks to head towards a closure.
The blog post reads: “Unfortunately, two separate agreements for Ninja Theory fell through. We will now begin consultation with employees on a proposed closure while continuing to explore other paths forward.”
Ninja Theory had seemed safe during Xbox’s initial wave of job and studio cuts in July, having apparently entered a partnership to an unnamed company. But that seems to have changed, leaving Ninja Theory without an owner and unable to continue operation.
The studio was developing Senua, a new entry in the studios’ Hellblade action adventure series – a game only announced in June as part of an Xbox Games Showcase. Senua was said to be a larger, “more expansive” game compared to previous entries in the series. Within a month of its reveal Ninja Theory was put up for sale by Microsoft.
The blog post ends with the following: “Today, our focus should be on supporting those affected and treating one another with care and respect. I will spend time with our studios over the next week. At our October 6 town hall, we will come together as an All-Xbox team to reflect on our progress and look ahead to one of the strongest game lineups in our history.”
Ninja Theory was known for some solid releases over the years. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was a stunning premiere for the series, and the studio released some interesting games like Disney Infinity: 3.0, Bleeding Edge, and Dexed.
A previous version of this article had the headline “Hellblade developer Ninja Theory to be shut down in new wave of Xbox cuts, as two separate agreements collapse”. The announcement from Xbox says consultation on a “proposed closure” has begun while other options are explored. Eurogamer apologises for this error.
