United Kingdom-based Ninja Theory has started the process to lay off employees, reporter Chris Kerr posted to BlueSky on Monday, shortly after owner Xbox announced that attempts to sell the studio were unsuccessful. Kerr cited several posts by employees who said they were at risk of redundancy, the U.K. legal process for layoffs, and were now looking for work.
Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty announced in September that Microsoft was continuing its “reset” of Xbox—i.e., laying off more employees. Booty wrote that Microsoft attempted to divest Ninja Theory, but that “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,” Booty wrote.
Several employees on LinkedIn began posting about the layoffs on Monday morning. “It’s incredibly sad knowing that we won’t get to finish what we were working on,” a gameplay programmer wrote. “So much care, talent and effort went into it, and I really wish we’d had the chance to see what it could have become.”
Aftermath has reached out to Ninja Theory and Microsoft for comment.
Ninja Theory, which is best known for the Hellblade series, was working on its third Hellblade game, Senua, which was expected to be released in 2027. Senua was announced at the 2026 Xbox Game Showcase. Game File reported in June, after the reveal, that Microsoft was already planning to close or sell-off the studio when the game was revealed; Microsoft’s idea, Game File reported, was that the debut trailer could attract buyers.
Ninja Theory’s most recently released game is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, which was released in 2024, which earned the studio 11 British Academy Video Games Awards nominations and a win for technical achievement. Ninja Theory was working on a horror game, Project Mara, that was announced as canceled in June following the Senua announcement.
Microsoft eliminated 1,600 jobs in July, with 1,600 more layoffs expected before the end of the fiscal year. Those widespread layoffs included the elimination of whole studios from Microsoft’s lineup: Double Fine, Compulsion, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory. Microsoft-owned Arkane is currently in negotiations over its fate. Both Double Fine and Compulsion went independent; Double Fine has since laid off 23 people. South of Midnight maker Compulsion Games now has publishing rights and ownership of the game.
Undead Labs, which is working on State of Decay 3, announced in September it went independent and is now employee-owned. The studio saw layoffs in late September.
