Staff at Ninja Theory, the studio behind Hellblade, are losing their jobs or are at risk of losing them.
Several employees shared the news on LinkedIn. Some said they’re facing redundancy. Others said they’ve already lost their jobs.
Tameem Antoniades, Nina Kristensen, and Mike Ball founded the studio in 2000 as Just Add Monsters. Its first game was Kung Fu Chaos in 2003. The team became Ninja Theory in 2004.
Next came Heavenly Sword (2007) on PS3. Then Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (2010), with Andy Serkis as Monkey and writing help from Alex Garland. In 2013 it made DmC: Devil May Cry for Capcom.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice launched in 2017 on PS4 and PC. Ninja Theory published it itself. It won five BAFTA Games Awards. Melina Juergens won Best Performance at The Game Awards for playing Senua. She started at the studio as a video editor.
Microsoft bought Ninja Theory in June 2018. The studio then released the multiplayer brawler Bleeding Edge in 2020.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was revealed in December 2019. It launched on May 21, 2024, for Xbox Series X/S and PC, and it was on Game Pass from day one. Juergens won Best Performance at The Game Awards again.
What happens to Senua?
A closed studio doesn’t always mean a dead series. Microsoft owns Hellblade, and a franchise can move to new hands. Nothing official has been said about the series’ future.
Older games are a different story. Heavenly Sword belongs to Sony, and DmC belongs to Capcom.
