Ninja Theory staff have begun reporting departures and roles at risk after two proposed deals to transfer the Cambridge-based Hellblade developer to new ownership fell through. Xbox has proposed closing the studio, but that outcome is not final: employee consultation is under way, and the future of the announced game Senua remains unclear.
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What’s known about Ninja Theory’s layoffs
On Sept. 22, Xbox said two separate agreements involving Ninja Theory had fallen through. It said it would begin consulting employees on a proposed closure while continuing to explore other options.
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By Oct. 5, employees were posting that they had left the studio or that their roles were at risk of redundancy. Reports identify affected workers in areas including sound design, gameplay programming and technical roles. Named employees include gameplay programmer Katrin Mair and technical sound designer Alessio Mellina.
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Those reports do not establish a final headcount. Xbox has not published a Ninja Theory-specific redundancy total.
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The 268-role Xbox figure is separate
In its Sept. 22 restructuring announcement, Xbox said it was eliminating 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and Xbox Game Studios management and central functions. That is a wider Xbox figure, not a reported count of jobs lost at Ninja Theory.
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The studio’s situation is distinct: Xbox described a proposed closure and an ongoing search for other paths forward. In other words, the consultation is not confirmation that the studio has already closed.
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What happens to Senua?
Ninja Theory had announced Senua, but reports have not established whether the game is canceled or will continue. The proposed closure puts its prospects in doubt, but uncertainty is not confirmation that it will never be released.
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Supermassive’s cuts are a separate case
The reports from Ninja Theory came alongside separate job losses at Supermassive Games, the UK studio behind Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology. In August, Supermassive announced a redundancy consultation that it expected could affect up to 75 employees.
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In October, an employee reported that more than 70 colleagues were leaving, across roles including development, art, production, QA and operations. Those cuts are separate from Xbox’s restructuring and should not be added to its 268-role figure.
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The reports point to job losses at two prominent UK game studios, but they describe separate processes—not a single combined layoff total.
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