The past two years have been terrible for the video game industry, with studios both big and small getting decimated by waves of layoffs as the pandemic boom ends. It feels like there isn’t a safe place for developers to work without the worry of losing their jobs, and that’s because they’re right – there is no safe place. The most recent wave was atXbox, with amass studio closurethat affectedHi-Fi Rushdeveloper Tango Gameworks andRedfalldeveloperArkane Austin, among others.
Understandably, there’s a lot of concern for Xbox’s remaining studios, especiallyNinja Theory, who just released Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 today. The fear is so acute that on social media,Xbox fans urged players to buy the gameto ensure that the studio made enough profit to justify its continued existence – if it makes enough money, the logic goes, Xbox won’t have a reason to shut it down.
You know the industry is in bad shape when fans are trying to swing their weight to make sure studios they love don’t get unceremoniously closed.
Ninja Theory’s Next Game Has Reportedly Already Been Greenlit
Reports released just before the launch of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 said thatNinja Theory’s next game has already been greenlit, the studio already has at least two games in the works, and that there are no plans to close the studio any time soon.
This should be comforting news. Ninja Theory is prolific, and the first Hellblade was critically lauded for its portrayal of mental illness and its overall narrative strength. The embargo on the sequel has lifted as well, and while reviews are more mixed,reception to the game has generally still been positive. All things considered, Ninja Theory shouldn’t be on the chopping block.
This Won’t Keep Ninja Theory Safe
But then again, Tango Gameworks shouldn’t have been on the chopping block either. One could argue that Arkane Austin’s poor showing with Redfall justified its closure – I disagree that one bad game should warrant so many people losing their jobs, but I digress – the closure of Tango Gameworks, in particular, wasan egregious decision. Hi-Fi Rush was a critical darling, a stunningly original Xbox game so beloved that after Tango Gameworks’ closure, it wasreverse review-bombedand became Xbox’s highest reviewed game on Steam. Tango did nothing wrong. There is nothing to point to and say, this is why it was closed. It just was.
And, lest we forget, both Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin were pitching sequels to properties that indubitably would have drawn players in. Tango was in the process ofpitching a Hi-Fi Rush sequel, and Arkanewanted to develop a new Dishonored game. These games would absolutely have piqued the interest of players, no less because Arkane would be returning to what it actually did best instead of trying to make a live service co-op shooter to placate its corporate overlords.
Do we really think that good reviews will be enough to keep Ninja Theory safe? Will games in the pipeline be enough to stop the studio from closing? At this point, it’s foolish to believe that. There is no sequel or positive review score that can save Hellblade’s developer if Xbox decides to turn its eye of Sauron on it and lay everyone off, and that’s the sad fact of it. I don’t want Ninja Theory to close, but we have to accept that no matter how well things go, it’s a possibility.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
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Following her trials and tribulations in her debut game, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 sees the titular protagonist again have to battle the darkness to liberate others from a tyrannical regime.
