Hellblade Developer Ninja Theory Hit With Layoffs - News
by William D'Angelo , posted 6 hours ago / 820 Views
Xbox last month announced the second part of its reset and restructuring that results in 268 people laid off and some Xbox Game Studios teams moving under Activision and Bethesda.
One of the announcements was that two separate agreements for Ninja Theory to be acquired fell through and Xbox is now in consultation with employees on a possible closure while other paths will continue to be explored.
Video game journalist Chris Kerr and VideoGamesChronicle are now reporting a number of employees at Ninja Theory are either at risk of being laid off or have already been let go.
Alessio Mellina (technical sound designer), Katrin Mair (gameplay programmer), Xoe Subari (PCap tech staff), Loong-Wei Ding (technical director), Matteo Tummino (sound designer), Matt Le-Fevre (senior technical artist), Pietro Berto (character artist), Justin Pedersen (technical artist) and Daniele Galante (principal sound designer) are among those who have confirmed their jobs are at risk or have ended.
"After four years, it’s hard to put into words how much this place and the people in it have meant to me," said gameplay programmer Katrin Mair. "I’ve learned an incredible amount, grown so much as a programmer, and had the chance to work with some genuinely brilliant people.
"What I’ll remember most is how much people cared. About the work, about the details, and about each other. I feel very lucky that this was the place where I got to start my career and grow into the programmer I am today.
"It’s incredibly sad knowing that we won’t get to finish what we were working on. So much care, talent and effort went into it, and I really wish we’d had the chance to see what it could have become."
Ninja Theory had announced the third entry in the Hellblade series simply titled Senua for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass. It is currently scheduled to launch in 2027.
A report claims Microsoft made its decision to shut down or split with Ninja Theory even before Senua was announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in June. The hope was the announcement would draw an investor interested in acquiring the studio.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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I'd like to see the third game get finished, but its just something I would want as Game Pass content or at a deep discount. MS is hyper focused on AAA games that can sell millions at launch and its valid. Not many companies want or can fund risky projects.
I love Ninja Theory and i have enjoyed many of their games like Heavenly Sward, Enslaved, DmC and Hellblade and it would be very unfortunate if they ended up closing which i hope it doesn’t come to that.
