Hellblade developer Ninja Theory has begun laying off staff and faces potential closure after two separate acquisition deals fell through. The cuts follow Xbox’s restructuring process, leaving the fate of the studio’s recently announced game, Senua, uncertain as employees share farewell messages on LinkedIn.
The Cambridge-based game developer Ninja Theory is moving toward a possible shutdown after Microsoft’s efforts to divest the studio collapsed. Following last month’s announcement that two separate acquisition agreements had fallen through, staff members have started posting goodbye messages on professional networking sites as consultations lead to widespread job losses across multiple departments.
Developers Face Redundancies
Journalist Chris Kerr first spotted the departures on LinkedIn, which were subsequently verified by VGC. The layoffs touch nearly every corner of the studio, impacting gameplay programmers, technical directors, character artists, and specialized audio staff who built the studio’s signature sound.
Among those affected are technical sound designer Alessio Mellina, gameplay programmer Katrin Mair, performance capture technician Xoe Subari, technical director Loong-Wei Ding, sound designer Matteo Tummino, senior technical artist Matt Le-Fevre, character artist Pietro Berto, technical artist Justin Pedersen, and principal sound designer Daniele Galante. Technical sound designer Alessio Mellina noted his role as the owner of most dynamic audio systems on recent projects, while performance capture technician Xoe Suvari highlighted the extensive data, shoot days, and set builds that went into creating a top-tier performance capture stage.
“After four years, it’s hard to put into words how much this place and the people in it have meant to me. I’ve learned an incredible amount, grown so much as a programmer, and had the chance to work with some genuinely brilliant people.”
Katrin Mair, Gameplay Programmer
Mair added in her farewell post that it is incredibly sad knowing that we won’t get to finish what we were working on
, noting the heavy amount of care, talent, and effort poured into the studio’s projects. Technical director Loong-Wei Ding also issued calls for other studios to pick up his colleagues, while technical sound designer Alessio Mellina faced the risk of redundancy after twelve years of service with the developer.
Senua Project Faces Doubts
The winding down of operations casts immediate doubt on the future of Senua, the third title in the Hellblade series. The game was unveiled just four months prior during the Xbox Games Showcase with a scheduled release window of 2027 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass.
Reports indicate that Microsoft planned the reveal specifically to attract potential buyers for the British studio while restructuring Xbox operations. Those acquisition talks ultimately broke down, leaving the studio in consultation over a proposed closure rather than an independent spinoff. The studio’s historical lineage includes operating independently, moving through various ownership structures, reforming on its own, and ultimately being acquired by Xbox in 2018.
Xbox Division Restructures Studios
The situation at Ninja Theory unfolds alongside organizational changes across Microsoft’s gaming division. Xbox COO Matt Booty noted during the second wave of restructurings that agreements to keep the studio open or spin it out independently could not be reached, forcing the company into consultation with staff.
While other teams such as Double Fine and Undead Labs successfully spun off into independent studios—albeit undergoing their own waves of layoffs—Ninja Theory and Arkane Lyon entered consultation processes for separation or closure.
