Future last game of Ninja Theory, before closure in 2025

[Stilgars]

Developers should start working on their resumes

[Kozzy]

Where was all this anger when Take Two and Sony shutdown studios?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-01/take-two-interactive-shuts-down-two-game-studios
https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-announces-significant-playstation-layoffs-affecting-900-staff-london-studio-to-close

Rollerdrome was one of my fav games of late (just like Hifi Rush was), and it also sold over 1 Million copies. Sucks that Take Two has shut down there studio, yet I havn't seen anyone in an uproar about that. And Sony shutdown studios in Japan over the last while.

F Microsoft for shutting down two great studios, but please Keep that same energy no matter what company it is.

I preordered Hellblade 2 on steam, as I do every game for devs I like, despite having gamepass. Will also be buying Obsidian's Avowed and Inxiles Clockwork revolution

[animal_PLANET]

The first hellblade took over a year to sell 1 million units. So, yea. Even though it was added to gamepass it had a good fan base but still low sales by industry standards even if it did turn a profit.

Since this will be on gamepass day 1. Will sales suffer more? Will it be seen as a flop since it took so long to make and that amount of sales wasnt garnished quick enough?

Ninja Theory also has Project Mara in the works but that was announced over 4 years ago now. Can a publisher afford to keep a developer that takes 7+ years to make a short SP game that doesnt garnish that good of results out of the gate?

It def depends but if MSFT does close the studio I wont be surprised. Just look at all the studios they closed in their lifetime since 2001. It really is insane.

MSFT canned 18K people almost 10 years ago. People act like this is such a big deal when layoffs happen, but have been happening quite a lot. https://www.yahoo.com/news/2014-07-17-microsoft-to-shutter-xbox-entertainment-studios.html

[panthera uncia]

I hate how this is such a normal thing in this industry now that this conversation is happening at all.

[Gienah Corvi]

animal_PLANET lähetti viestin:

Ninja Theory also has Project Mara in the works but that was announced over 4 years ago now. Can a publisher afford to keep a developer that takes 7+ years to make a short SP game that doesnt garnish that good of results out of the gate?

That's canceled, bank on it. Ninja Theory will be closed when they feel it's appropriate, likely sooner rather than later (especially when they officially Pitch Mara and ask for more employees, how dare they). It doesn't meet their new "vision". Tameem is already gone like Shinji Mikami from Tango, it's over, just have to accept it and move on. MS is going a different way, one of AAA, which they haven't been able to successfully deliver on in succession for quite some time. They're idiots and the entire C-Suite should be annihilated at Xbox.

[animal_PLANET]

Gienah Corvi lähetti viestin:

animal_PLANET lähetti viestin:

Ninja Theory also has Project Mara in the works but that was announced over 4 years ago now. Can a publisher afford to keep a developer that takes 7+ years to make a short SP game that doesnt garnish that good of results out of the gate?

That's canceled, bank on it. Ninja Theory will be closed when they feel it's appropriate, likely sooner rather than later (especially when they officially Pitch Mara and ask for more employees, how dare they). It doesn't meet their new "vision". Tameem is already gone like Shinji Mikami from Tango, it's over, just have to accept it and move on. MS is going a different way, one of AAA, which they haven't been able to successfully deliver on in succession for quite some time. They're idiots and the entire C-Suite should be annihilated at Xbox.

I really dont care regardless what studio they close. Stuff happens and you cant control it. Plenty of games I wished were still being made but oh well. Just gotta move on.

Project Mara has already been announced publicly over 4 years ago. So its already well past the pitching stage. Its in active development. Im sure when this game releases the team will move there and a small team will be left behind to work on patches until the support period ends.

But of course anything is possible that if this game doesnt do well. MSFT cancels Project Mara all together and cuts their losses.

I've always said MSFT sucked as a publisher. Not once have they done anything right outside of Halo and Forza. They threw Alan Wake into the dirt and did Remedy dirty. If they end up going the route of Embracer, Than oh well. They wont be missed, but that is highly unlikely being that they have trillions of dollars. It will take a long long time for them to go under. They lasted decades doing the same thing. But how much farther can they go with this charade is anyones guess.

[TheBakedBurrito]

They will be missed.

[TheFibrewire]

Stilgars lähetti viestin:

Developers should start working on their resumes

looks like Obsidian might get shut down or be merged with Bethesda. Double fine, Ninja Theory is RIP.

[SmellyWrestlingGeek]

I'll just add, don't think that the studio closures and layoffs are exclusive to Microsoft. I expect many across the industry in the next year or two. The over growth during the pandemic, on top of the rising cost/time to develop games is making every publisher wary.

I mean even Sony has resorted to half remasters/remakes, a quarter being third party deals, and the remaining being games from their own first party. Hence why they have no major first party titles this year. Risk taking will be very low for a while until the industry stabilizes.I suspect if games aren't making back at least twice their cost, then studios will be at risk for all publishers.

[VhagarTheLastOne]

Im not that excited tbh, Hell Blade was very basic. Im gonna play this though.

[Nuclear Kangaroo]

Turbo Man lähetti viestin:

RIP Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Obsidian.

Any other companies on the chopping line?

If they are lucky, Obsidian will be put to work in the Fallout mines, the rest? Yup, RIP, alongside InXile, i hope you werent a fan of Wasteland and its more classic take on post apocaliptic RPGs!

[Nuclear Kangaroo]

SmellyWrestlingGeek lähetti viestin:

If Hellblade 2 fails, it's entirely possible.

Or if it succeeds, look at Hi-Fi Rush, its like playing russian roulette with an assault rifle, there is only one outcome bro

[Mr. No_Effs_Given]

I would say unless it sells like 10 millions copies or so, it will be considered a failure by Micro$oft. The chances of them closing Ninja Theory is quite high. It's unfortunate since it's a talented studio. Wished they made a sequel to Enslaved or something similar.

[wasabi™]

BlackLight78 lähetti viestin:

Gienah Corvi lähetti viestin:

Basically confirmed: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-08/xbox-studio-closures-microsoft-plans-more-cost-cutting-measures-after-layoffs

Sadly, I have to agree. MS now only wants multi-billion dollar franchises, like Call of Duty and Fallout. Just look at the production value of the launch trailer for Hellblade II:

https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1788285447699046602

Whoa mate that's crazy, I knew something weird was up when it came to marketing!

It explains a lot if Microsoft couldn't care less about putting any budget whatsoever to marketing a beloved sequel like this.

I hate the direction they are going right now and after sacking developers of Hi-Fi Rush Phil Spencer had the gall to say they needed more shorter, well received single player games wtf.

[MROOD]

so many studios closing down, getting bought by the corporate's, economy not helping is these ♥♥♥♥♥♥ times, smaller studios struggling with high prices and lower returns

that why these single developer indie titles are flourishing, because they can create a game in 8 months and sell its for $5

[Zebedee]

wasabi™ lähetti viestin:

It explains a lot if Microsoft couldn't care less about putting any budget whatsoever to marketing a beloved sequel like this.

So this kind of thing used to be part of what I did for a living. The marketing budget is almost always counted towards the game's overall budget - it's not a freebie a publisher happens to do. For AAAs, it's an obnoxiously large slice of that overall budget. I don't know for certain but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that Microsoft book time etc. to it no matter which subdivision a particular employee works in or whether the ad spend is used internally or to plaster TImes Square in videos of Picts.

With everything being so similar to how the original Hellblade was marketed and released, this looks more like a conscious decision to repeat that. Hard to tell much from where we are but I'd be far more concerned if there was total silence about a game rather than the 'discourse' about a game's lack of adverts just as its broader marketing starts to ramp up. Even if that is more boring of an answer than some others.