At this year’s XBOX Games Showcase, Ninja Theory announced its next game, Senua, the third game in the critically acclaimed Hellblade series. However, many are left wondering why it was announced following the reports that Ninja Theory is one of the developers that Microsoft is considering to shut down as they reset and move forward with XBOX’s future. As it turns out, Microsoft knew that it would consider shutting down when Senua was announced and it reportedly was a way to try and garner investor interest in Ninja Theory.
Microsoft allegedly planned to close or spin off Ninja Theory when it revealed Senua, and it did so thinking that “the promise of a newly announced game would help draw investor interest in the studio.” https://t.co/cR5wfwxIvY pic.twitter.com/qStoxxqs7d
— IGN (@IGN) June 17, 2026
Game File reports, citing a source familar with Microsoft’s operations, plans were already in place to close or sell the studio off when the game was announced during the showcase.
“By the time that game was revealed, Microsoft had already planned to sunset or split with the studio,” the report reads. “The thinking was that the promise of a newly announced game would help draw investor interest in the studio.” Game File states that it’s currently unknown if anyone at Ninja Theory was involved with the plan.
Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Compulsion, which was also reportedly closed, are all said to be in negotiations with Microsoft over a potential buyout to avoid closure. Investment would be needed in order to help these studios go independent.
In XBOX’s “reset” memo, which was released prior to all of studio closure reports, it was noted that Microsoft’s gaming business has a 3% accountability margin which is down year-on-year.”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,” Sharma said.
One analyst noted that “the studios most exposed are brilliant for prestige and rotten for the spreadsheet.”
Microsoft is reportedly speeding up development on some of its big franchises, like the new Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo games. There has also been reports that Microsoft is even considering restructuring or even spinning off its gaming branch.