{"id":2179947,"date":"2026-10-05T14:53:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2179947"},"modified":"2026-10-05T14:53:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:53:45","slug":"ninja-theory-developers-announce-they-are-facing-redundancy-as-the-studio-starts-laying-off-staff-following-widespread-xbox-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2179947","title":{"rendered":"Ninja Theory developers announce they are facing redundancy, as the studio starts laying off staff following widespread Xbox cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/senua\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Senua<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Ninja Theory developers announce they are facing redundancy, as the studio starts laying off staff following widespread Xbox cuts<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Hellblade developer facing cuts.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Will_3-(1).png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Senua&apos;s Sacrifice: Hellblade 2 running in 16:9 showing Senua\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Will_3-(1).png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Ninja Theory\/Digital Foundry<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Reporter<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-10-05T14:53:45+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Oct. 5, 2026, 2:53 p.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ninja-theory-hellblade-developers-layoffs-xbox-cuts?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          8 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"header_actions\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"196e6865-d58e-472f-b66a-3641314ac809\" data-name=\"Senua\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Senua\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Senua\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Senua\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Senua\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Senua\" title=\"Follow Senua\"><br \/>\n  Follow Senua<br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n  <a class=\"button outline wide preferred_source_button\" data-component=\"preferred-source-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=eurogamer.net\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"logo\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><br \/>\nPrioritise us on Google  <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p>More bad news for Ninja Theory today, as the studio&#8217;s consultation process with Xbox &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-layoffs-activision-rare-halo-ninja-theory\">following a second wave of cuts last week<\/a> &#8211; seems to have resulted in layoffs.<\/p>\n<p>First, how did we get here? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">Back in July, Xbox announced the beginning of its &#8220;reset&#8221;<\/a>. This is a major restructuring of the Xbox business, and included 3,200 planned job cuts and several studio cuts.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Senua - Official Reveal Trailer | Xbox Games Showcase 2026\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xJbUOoqqhc0?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/xJbUOoqqhc0\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Senua &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer | Xbox Games Showcase 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s the reveal trailer for Senua.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xJbUOoqqhc0\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of those studios was Ninja Theory. Unlike Double Fine &#8211; another studio that managed to head off on its own as an independent developer &#8211; Xbox had worked to transfer ownership of Ninja Theory to another company. That way, the studio could live on and continue work on Senua, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/hellblade-3-senua-announcement-ninja-theory\">a game only revealed back in June<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sadly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ninja-theory-closed-shut-down-xbox-layoffs\">the proposed sale of Ninja Theory didn&#8217;t manifest<\/a>, as a letter penned by Xbox COO Matt Booty confirmed that two separate sale-related agreements &#8220;fell through&#8221;. As a result, Xbox and Ninja Theory began a consultation process as the studio moved towards closure, though Booty was sure to note that Xbox would &#8220;continue to explore other paths forward&#8221; in the meantime. As such, Ninja Theory&#8217;s closure wasn&#8217;t a certainty.<\/p>\n<p>While the wider survival of Ninja Theory remains up in the air, we fast forward to today where its developers nonetheless face redundancy. As spotted by <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/kerrblimey.bsky.social\/post\/3mx4xgtewec2l\">journalist Chris Kerr<\/a>, employees took to LinkedIn to  express their sadness around the situation, as well as their appreciation for their fellow Ninja Theory developers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sadly, after almost nine incredible years at Ninja Theory, my position is now at risk,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7510688994079428608\/\">wrote principle sound designer Daniele Galante<\/a>. They  shared an anecdote about the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/hellblade\">Hellblade<\/a> scene they worked, and then added: &#8220;Although I am not going to pretend I am not sad about having to say goodbye to many friends, I feel ready for my next adventure, knowing that I will bring with me a huge wealth of experience gained at Ninja and throughout my previous roles.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Gameplay programmer Katrin Mair <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7512794244215050241\/\">posted<\/a>: &#8220;I&#8217;ve been trying to figure out how to write this because Ninja Theory was never just a job to me. I moved to the UK for Ninja. It was where I started my career in the games industry, and it ended up becoming such a big part of my life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>P<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7510992965813768192\/\">rinciple programmer Stefano Prosperi<\/a> added: &#8220;Now, with Ninja Theory facing closure and all of us facing redundancy, it&#8217;s difficult to process the idea that this chapter may be coming to an end. I feel sadness, uncertainty and disappointment, of course. But more than anything, I feel incredibly fortunate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fortunate to have spent 13 years doing something I love.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunate to have worked with people at the very top of their craft. Fortunate to have been part of a studio that created things we genuinely cared about.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>These three are a few of the many developers who have either lost, or are at risk of losing, their jobs as part of Xbox&#8217;s restructuring. This mass reorganisation has still not concluded, leaving those <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-coalition-gears-of-war-e-day-worried-layoffs-no-bonus\">at other Xbox-owned studios fearful of future cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ninja Theory in recent years had established itself as a stand-out UK studio, responsible for the acclaimed Hellblade series. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-review\">Hellblade 2 earned five stars from Eurogamer back in 2024<\/a>, and was described as &#8220;triumphant&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p>More bad news for Ninja Theory today, as the studio&#8217;s consultation process with Xbox &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-layoffs-activision-rare-halo-ninja-theory\">following a second wave of cuts last week<\/a> &#8211; seems to have resulted in layoffs.<\/p>\n<p>First, how did we get here? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">Back in July, Xbox announced the beginning of its &#8220;reset&#8221;<\/a>. This is a major restructuring of the Xbox business, and included 3,200 planned job cuts and several studio cuts.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Senua - Official Reveal Trailer | Xbox Games Showcase 2026\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xJbUOoqqhc0?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/xJbUOoqqhc0\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Senua &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer | Xbox Games Showcase 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s the reveal trailer for Senua.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xJbUOoqqhc0\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>One of those studios was Ninja Theory. Unlike Double Fine &#8211; another studio that managed to head off on its own as an independent developer &#8211; Xbox had worked to transfer ownership of Ninja Theory to another company. That way, the studio could live on and continue work on Senua, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/hellblade-3-senua-announcement-ninja-theory\">a game only revealed back in June<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sadly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ninja-theory-closed-shut-down-xbox-layoffs\">the proposed sale of Ninja Theory didn&#8217;t manifest<\/a>, as a letter penned by Xbox COO Matt Booty confirmed that two separate sale-related agreements &#8220;fell through&#8221;. As a result, Xbox and Ninja Theory began a consultation process as the studio moved towards closure, though Booty was sure to note that Xbox would &#8220;continue to explore other paths forward&#8221; in the meantime. As such, Ninja Theory&#8217;s closure wasn&#8217;t a certainty.<\/p>\n<p>While the wider survival of Ninja Theory remains up in the air, we fast forward to today where its developers nonetheless face redundancy. As spotted by <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/kerrblimey.bsky.social\/post\/3mx4xgtewec2l\">journalist Chris Kerr<\/a>, employees took to LinkedIn to  express their sadness around the situation, as well as their appreciation for their fellow Ninja Theory developers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Sadly, after almost nine incredible years at Ninja Theory, my position is now at risk,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7510688994079428608\/\">wrote principle sound designer Daniele Galante<\/a>. They  shared an anecdote about the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/hellblade\">Hellblade<\/a> scene they worked, and then added: &#8220;Although I am not going to pretend I am not sad about having to say goodbye to many friends, I feel ready for my next adventure, knowing that I will bring with me a huge wealth of experience gained at Ninja and throughout my previous roles.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Gameplay programmer Katrin Mair <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7512794244215050241\/\">posted<\/a>: &#8220;I&#8217;ve been trying to figure out how to write this because Ninja Theory was never just a job to me. I moved to the UK for Ninja. It was where I started my career in the games industry, and it ended up becoming such a big part of my life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>P<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/feed\/update\/urn:li:activity:7510992965813768192\/\">rinciple programmer Stefano Prosperi<\/a> added: &#8220;Now, with Ninja Theory facing closure and all of us facing redundancy, it&#8217;s difficult to process the idea that this chapter may be coming to an end. I feel sadness, uncertainty and disappointment, of course. But more than anything, I feel incredibly fortunate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fortunate to have spent 13 years doing something I love.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunate to have worked with people at the very top of their craft. Fortunate to have been part of a studio that created things we genuinely cared about.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>These three are a few of the many developers who have either lost, or are at risk of losing, their jobs as part of Xbox&#8217;s restructuring. This mass reorganisation has still not concluded, leaving those <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-coalition-gears-of-war-e-day-worried-layoffs-no-bonus\">at other Xbox-owned studios fearful of future cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ninja Theory in recent years had established itself as a stand-out UK studio, responsible for the acclaimed Hellblade series. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/senuas-saga-hellblade-2-review\">Hellblade 2 earned five stars from Eurogamer back in 2024<\/a>, and was described as &#8220;triumphant&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Senua Ninja Theory developers announce they are facing redundancy, as the studio starts laying off staff following widespread Xbox cuts Hellblade developer facing cuts. Image credit: Ninja Theory\/Digital Foundry News by Connor Makar Reporter Published on Oct. 5, 2026, 2:53 p.m. 8 comments Follow Senua Prioritise us on Google More bad news for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2179947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2179947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2179947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2179947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2179947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}