Xbox is set to undergo a massive restructuring process which will affect lots of jobs and can also result in downright closures of many acclaimed studios including Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games and Double Fine. But what’s particularly odd about Ninja Theory facing closure is that only a few days ago in the recent Xbox Showcase event, a new game from the studio was featured titled ‘Senua’ which is supposed to be a sequel to Hellblade 2.
This makes the decision to shut down the studio feel really unfair in more ways than one, but now it’s been reported that Microsoft had already planned to close Ninja Theory and announced the new trailer to help draw investors to the studio.
According to Game File’s Stephen Totilo, Microsoft “had already planned to sunset or split” with Ninja Theory even before the trailer for Senua had came out, thinking that the newly announced title would be able to “draw investor interest” to the studio. However, Totilo notes that it’s currently unclear whether Ninja Theory’s leadership was onboard with Microsoft’s decision, or not. Although, the unusually smaller gap of time between the release of Hellblade 2 and the reveal of Senua could mean that the devs were indeed aware of Microsoft’s plan.
Also, it seems that despite Senua’s announcement, Ninja Theory may be closed down along with the other studios that are currently reported to be involved in discussions to prevent closures.
Ninja Theory has had multiple acclaimed titles over the years, chief among them is Hellblade 2 which earned several nominations at the 2025 BAFTA Games Awards event.
These reports of imminent layoffs and closures come shortly after new CEO Asha Sharma sending an email titled Next 100 Days: Xbox Reset to all employees, notifying them of the incoming massive job cuts to be held across multiple studios, after the company has gone through several underperforming years mainly due to the current hardware component crisis.
