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Xbox Acquired Hellblade Developer Ninja Theory for $117 Million

According to FTC filings, Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory for $117 million.

Obscure_Observer1061d ago

Ninja Theory is made of very talented and passionate developers.

I´m glad that saw that studio´s potential and chose it to be part of the Xbox family!

Now under Xbox they´re AAA and has all the freedom and resources in the world to deliver amazing games for us!

Thank you Phil and Tameem Antoniades.

blackblades1061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

Stop slurping in public

RpgSama1061d ago

He is getting out of hand lately, he took it to 11 now.

Army_of_Darkness1061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

@Obscure_Observer

"oh thank you so much Xbox! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! I bend the knee for you my lord!" 🤣🤣

Ninja theory is okay. Not great.

Elda1061d ago

LOL!! That's the behavior & words from a true fanatic.

Crows901061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

The potential??? Remind us all who they've tapped their potential? What new IP are they working on???

Oh wait...that's right. They needed a cinematic story driven IP ...hellblade was well received so they bought them for peanuts.

And let's see.. what are they currently working on and to what scope compared to before??

Basically the same game but #2
Similar situation to the tomb raider sequel except this time they made this sequel a permanent exclusive.

Knushwood Butt1061d ago

Maybe Bleeding Edge was the potential.

Crows901061d ago

@knush

Oh crap you're right. Lol that thing was definitely a result of the Microsoft acquisition.

4Sh0w1061d ago

Ninja Theory has alot of potential, but Hellblade 2 needs more action gameplay before I get excited. They did well with Heavenly Sword & DMC games so hopefully we'll see a full blown new action IP from them after H2.

Crows901061d ago

@4sh0W

Just imagine what they could do...people falsely claiming hellblade 2 is like god of war...Heavenly sword, which was a playstation exclusive, was more in competition with god of war.

Obscure_Observer1060d ago

"Oh wait...that's right. They needed a cinematic story driven IP ...hellblade was well received so they bought them for peanuts."

MS paid $117 million for Ninja Theory which at the time was an indie studio made of only 20 people.

Sony paid $229 million for Insomniac which at the time were made of 400 employees.

That was a steal! Lol!

"And let's see.. what are they currently working on and to what scope compared to before??"

The original Hellblade was developed and produced by only 20 people (Melinda included).

As an Xbox first party studio, Ninja Theory has now 200+ employees and Hellblade II will be full AAA game powered by UE5. In term of scope, the original Hellblade only features only small areas to explore, while in Hellblade II gamers will be allowed to explore all areas of Iceland.

"Basically the same game but #2"

Lol. You´re in for a major shock! XD

Crows901060d ago

@obscure

There will be shock...but It think itll be all over you.
The same but number 2 wasnt meant as an insult. I liked the first one..so I know I'll like the second. You probably didnt care for the first one for a couple of reasons.

1. They were you referred to it as a small indie game
2. It wasnt an xbox exclusive

Youll be in shock when its pretty much the same but number 2. Number 2 of any game is ALWAYS bigger.
God of War Ragnarok is essentally God of War but number 2. Same kind of game but bigger in scope.

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neutralgamer19921061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

Obscure

You really think he gives a damn about you or me thanking him? Seriously man does it not bother you at all that you are such a huge fanboy of Xbox and your comments come across like cult members

Be a gamer for gaming these corporations don’t care about any of us. We are dollar signs to them

On topic

I am glad for NT because their last game they struggled so much just to complete it and companies even provided equipment just for them to get the work done. Now they have peace of mind with resources they need. Hopefully they can naturally grow into a bigger studio and make some amazing games

Godmars2901061d ago

They're mid tier devs at best. Failed to nail one of their biggest shots with Heavenly Sword, went way over their weight limit with DMC: DmC, and got lucky with apparent one-shot, B title Hellbalde. Which MS expects them to make into a franchise?

I'll just wait for the first "Hellbalde better than GOW" article. Cause that's going to be fun...

4Sh0w1061d ago

Salt, Salt, Salt is basically all you said.

Vengeance11381061d ago

Mid developer remains mid lol Wake me up when they actually put out something half decent haha

porkChop1061d ago

It's funny how no one called them mid tier until Xbox acquired them. People loved Heavenly Sword, Enslaved, Hellblade, etc, but now they're suddenly mid tier? Touch grass.

MadLad1061d ago

@porkchop

I mean, you called it out first and you're not wrong.
DmC definitely got the shaft, yet it was successful and a good game. The closest thing they ever released to be considered "mid" was Heavenly Sword.

Lightning771060d ago

It's Bad now but great here. https://n4g.com/news/208826...

Even saying support Hell Blade because Shadow Of Wars Microtransactions.

Scroll down a little bit and you'll even see Obscures comment. He may be A hardcore Xbox fanboy but at least he's consistent here. Can't say the same in these comment sections.

1061d ago
dnawesum1060d ago

Deepthroat would be proud.

1nsomniac1060d ago

While the corporate xbox ass licking is as pathetic as it gets. How is it any different to the Sony usuals in here that sprout this pathetic crap on a daily basis!

They both need to get filtered elsewhere so the grown ups can talk like adults.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 1060d ago
P_Bomb1061d ago

I wonder if they’ll ever reboot Enslaved?

shinoff21831061d ago

I liked enslaved I felt it was one of their better games

Sonic18811061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

Enslaved was just mediocre. So I doubt they'll bring that back. Tbh most of their games were mediocre including Hellblade. That felt like a walking simulator

Knightofelemia1061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

Enslaved was a sleeper hit which it was and is still a great game to play. If a person who missed out on it I would say snag it off Ebay and play it. It's still one of my favorite games.

Melankolis1061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

It was a good game, but....just good, not great nor it interesting. Maybe the background of the characters aren't well told, lack of lore, just start and play. I gave it 8. Good but easily forgettable. Yeah you may call it mediocre. NT is quite talented, but they lack something.

Sonic18811061d ago (Edited 1061d ago )

@Knight

I never felt like their games were great. Just solid or mediocre but that's my opinion. I am still interested in playing Hellblade 2 on PC because of the graphics. I think this game is going to look fantastic on PC

mkis0071061d ago

Damn this really puts into perspective yet again how good a deal sony got for insomniac...the workhorse of the industry at this point.

Aloymetal1061d ago

That was the 1st thing that came to my mind, Sony got Insomniac for pennies and they've been pumping out great games since this gen started nonstop. Amazing.

MEGANE1061d ago

Yes but any winnings there they lost on bungie, imo.

mkis0071060d ago

I somewhat disagree. They bought Bungie for the expertise. The largest chunk of Bungie was for talent retention; they paid more to make sure everyone stayed at Bungie. Sony wants talent, IP's are just a bonus because they know they can and will create more.

__SteakDeck__1060d ago (Edited 1060d ago )

@MEGANE I know I’m going to get downvoted to hell, because this is n4g and people here hate GAAS games. But how the hell did they lose on Bungie? Do you know how much money Destiny will bring and Marathon will bring? Lol

MEGANE1060d ago

I get it, but a couple Billion more and they could have bought square enix… a publisher full of IPs… I don’t disagree with acquiring bungie but 3.5 billion and sony can’t even dictated exclusivity? Please.

PhillyDonJawn1061d ago

They have High potential. Add some good combat mechanics and action to go with the graphics and story telling. Ad you got a mega hit.

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70°

Microsoft Gaming Revenue Drops 7% Year-on-Year, Content and Services Down 5%, Xbox Hardware Down 33%

Microsoft announced its financial results for Q3 of fiscal year 2026, including an update on its gaming Xbox business and more.

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simulationdaily.com
Jin_Sakai24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

Not looking good. Hopefully Asha Sharma is able to turn Phil’s disaster around.

dveio24d ago

To me it's still quite remarkable how they can cash-in 5.3bn in revenue in a single quarter, since their hardware is basically dead.

Jingsing23d ago

The stock mark is what makes Microsoft remarkable, They have convinced every institutional and retail investor to just keep piling money into them. Like many big tech giants they are just a big growing pyramid scheme. As long as people keep dropping money into ETF's that cover the market Microsoft will always be liquid. At the same time it is completely stifling innovation and competition. People need to start being more discreet in how they invest their money as it's killing the system.

Tanktopmaster9223d ago

Once they re-evaluate exclusive all will be fine….

S2Killinit23d ago

Riiiiight because people will just flock back to them for one or two games per year.

Jingsing23d ago

15+ years of bad performance is what they call irreparable in business. It is time for them to sell off the assets and get out of entertainment.

Tanktopmaster9223d ago

These declines are on the back of extra revenue received from releasing games like Forza horizon 5 on PlayStation. So I’m being sarcastic here when I said they should go back to exclusives. Killing off a revenue stream from Ps5 sales will only make things worse

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50°

Spiders Studio, Developers of GreedFall: The Dying World, Announce Liquidation of the Company

Spiders: "We're going to cut straight to the chase so you're not left wondering: After a long period without clear answers, we have received confirmation that Spiders is being liquidated.

What does it mean? This means the company as a whole no longer exists. We'll cease our functions immediately. The planned DLC will release via Nacon, and then-- well, that's it.

We're sorry that it's come to this and would like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the years.

If you have any questions or run into issues with your games, please contact Nacon directly as we'll no longer be able to reply."

40°

Koei Tecmo Announces Record Financial Results After Releasing Many Big Games

Today, Koei Tecmo announced its financial results for the full fiscal year 2025, related to the period between April 2025 and March 2026.

Read Full Story >>
simulationdaily.com