It's now serious for the Hellblade studio: Layoffs have begun at Ninja Theory. Employees are saying goodbye to their team on LinkedIn – and the posts make it clear how hard this move is hitting the staff.
Last month, Xbox announced the studio's closure after two deals to save the developer fell through. Now, the consequences are becoming apparent. Journalist Chris Kerr discovered the farewell posts, and IGN reported on them.
What Are Ninja Theory Employees Writing on LinkedIn?
After four years at the studio, gameplay programmer Katrin Mair writes: “It's incredibly sad to know we won't get to finish what we've been working on.” She had moved to the UK specifically for the job and emphasizes how much care and talent went into the project.
- Technical Director Loong-Wei Ding is affected and calls on other studios to hire his Ninja Theory colleagues.
- Technical Sound Designer Alessio Mellina is facing termination after twelve years. He was responsible for many of the dynamic audio systems, such as those that convey the whispering voices in Hellblade.
- Performance Capture Specialist Xoe Suvari has been laid off. He speaks of hundreds of shooting days and a capture stage that was “top of its class.”
All posts revolve around colleagues. This suggests that the layoffs are affecting the entire studio.
How Does This Fit with Xbox's Restructuring at Activision and Halo?
Ninja Theory is just one part of a larger restructuring. According to IGN, Microsoft has announced that the next main Halo game will be developed by Call of Duty creator Activision, including mass layoffs at Halo Studios. World’s Edge (Age of Empires) and Rare (Sea of Thieves) are also moving under the Activision umbrella, while Obsidian is becoming a Bethesda studio and working on a new Fallout. You can read more about the direction of Halo in our report on Activision's Halo plans.
According to Xbox Content Chief Matt Booty, about three-quarters of the planned restructurings are complete. This suggests that more positions will be eliminated in the coming months.
What Does This Mean for Senua and the Hellblade Series?
In June, Microsoft announced Senua as the third installment in the series at the Xbox Games Showcase. It is widely speculated that the trailer was intended to pique the interest of potential studio buyers because Microsoft already knew at that point that it would not be publishing the game itself. For players, this means: Hellblade 3 is currently unlikely to happen. This is our assessment; nothing has been officially confirmed.
From our perspective, this is a bitter example of how quickly even highly praised, award-winning studios can be subsumed by corporate strategies. Hellblade is considered a benchmark for audio and performance capture – precisely the areas from which people are now departing.
Source: IGN
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