Xbox cancels Senua plus Call of Duty dev takes over Halo 7 in major shake-up

Xbox has shut down one of its more prominent video game studios, Ninja Theory, the developer behind Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, while reportedly cancelling its new Hellblade sequel ahead of its planned 2027 launch.

Before Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory in 2018, the studio developed titles including Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

Under Microsoft, Ninja Theory became a first-party AAA studio and released Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II in 2024. A third entry, Senua, was reportedly in development for 2027, but mass redundancies and wider Xbox restructuring cast doubt over the studio’s future.

Microsoft confirms Ninja Theory studio closure

The news of Ninja Theory closing was confirmed on the Xbox Wire, in an article titled “Continuing Our Reset”, published by Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer at Microsoft Gaming, Matt Booty.

In August, Compulsion and Double Fine returned to management with their IP, back catalogs, and runway funding. Undead Labs has now successfully transitioned on similar terms and, with a new publisher, will release State of Decay 3 day one on Game Pass,” reads part of the statement.

“Unfortunately, two separate agreements for Ninja Theory fell through. We will now begin consultation with employees on a proposed closure while continuing to explore other paths forward.”

In a tweet from The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest and Gamescom ONL host, Geoff Keighley claimed “A buyer for Ninja Theory has fallen through and Xbox will now close Ninja Theory.”

There has also been a major shake-up that sees Call of Duty developers getting involved with the Halo series.

More to follow…