While recent reports have indicated that Microsoft will be shutting down Hellblade developer Ninja Theory, according to Game File’s Stephen Totilo, Microsoft had already planned the closure before the studio debuted its next title, Senua, earlier this month. According to Totilo, the trailer was released in the hopes of drawing in potential investors that might want to acquire the studio from Microsoft.
However, despite these potential plans, the report notes that it is still unclear whether any member of Ninja Theory’s leadership was aware of this plan.
Other reports have indicated that Ninja Theory, along with Double Fine and Compulsion Games, have begun negotiations with Microsoft with the hopes of spinning the companies off rather than simply being closed down. Even if these negotiations are successful, however, the studios will still likely end up being affected by major layoffs.
More recently, Insider Gaming’s Mike Straw had noted through social media posts that Xbox is planning to shut down “at least two” of its studios by the end of the year. “One of which would come as a shock to everyone,” he said.
“It wasn’t Obsidian or Rare, for those who’ve asked. I’m working on trying to get more details on what employees are feeling at the moment. But the picture could become clearer in the coming weeks, depending on what decisions get finalized.”
Rumors have indicated that Xbox is planning layoffs and studio closures following the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year on June 30th. These decisions are seemingly being made as part of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s plans to reduce the losses of revenues that have been incurred by the division in recent times. In a post discussing the “realities” faced by Xbox, Sharma and CCO Matt Booty had written about the company seeing its accountability margins go down by 3 percent year-on-year.
“We will end this fiscal year at about a 3 percent accountability margin, down year-over-year,” they wrote. “Excluding Activision Blizzard King, over the past five years, we have spent over $20 billion on ongoing investments in our content, platform, and hardware subsidy, but our annual revenue has declined nearly half a billion during that time. Going forward, this cannot continue.”
In the meantime, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O’Connor have reportedly stepped down from their roles. In an email to staff, Duncan wrote about having led Xbox Game studios for 20 months, and being proud of the “many flawless launches that drove business success for the company” that took place under his tenure.
Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding potential studio closures and layoffs, Xbox’s chief strategy officer Matthew Ball has reaffirmed that the company is not “reversing course” on its plans to release more Xbox-exclusive games.
“These rumors are false. Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will stay exclusive,” he wrote on social media. “There are no conversations and have been no conversations to ‘reverse course.’”
For more on why Xbox might be looking to trim some of its workforce, check out the report about how successful Xbox releases had to subsidize underwhelming projects, including some that were cancelled.
