Ninja Theory begins staff layoffs following proposed closure by Xbox

British game developer Ninja Theory has started laying off employees, GamesIndustry.biz, Eurogamer, and Rock Paper Shotgun reported. The redundancy process follows an announcement on September 22 by parent company Xbox that it was proposing to close the Cambridge-based studio, according to GamesIndustry.biz and Pure Xbox. [1][2][4][6][12]

Xbox stated that two separate agreements to sell Ninja Theory fell through while it was trying to divest the studio, GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, and Pure Xbox reported. Affected employees began posting farewell messages on LinkedIn, including gameplay programmer Katrin Mair, who stated that staff will not get to finish the project they were working on, GamesIndustry.biz and Rock Paper Shotgun reported. [1][4][5][6]

The reductions follow a broader Xbox restructuring announced in July that included 3,200 planned job cuts, Eurogamer reported. Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory in 2018 for $117 million, Game Developer reported. The developer is known for titles including Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry, Bleeding Edge, and the Hellblade series, as well as the recently announced Senua. [2][3][6][12][13]