2026 is a year of great change at Xbox, with the appointment of CEO Asha Sharma ushering in new strategies, a change in direction and a ‘reset’ of sorts. Unfortunately, part of this plan seems to include the closure of many different first party studios. While officially, we still do not know exactly what’s in store, insiders have claimed that Microsoft is hoping to still release all of its previously-announced games in one form or another.

The recent reports that Microsoft is looking to shut down / sell-off a bunch of its studios has led to a ton of chaos in the video games industry, with rumours ranging from claims that the console maker is hoping to sell off some of its studios, to statements suggesting that the likes of Double Fine; Arkane; Compulsion Games; Ninja Theory and more could be wholly shut down – despite some of them literally just announcing a new game.

While we will have to wait and see what becomes of these studios, insiders are now claiming that Microsoft could be giving the teams one last hurrah, with Jez Corden of Windows Central claiming: “The best-case scenario is some of these studios do find a buyer, but there are some of the studios that could either go there, could be independent, they could be bought out by the individuals who sold the company originally.”

Corden continued, “We're going to see it from next week. We're going to see a combination of studios going independent, studios being sold to the publishers, and then potentially some smaller studios potentially being closed. But then I would expect also head counts across the board. I think every studio is going to have layoffs, at least some layoffs.”

According to Corden, the one silver lining in all this is the fact that these potentially-shuttered studios could still receive an opportunity to get their games past the finish line, stating: “So from what I've heard, the plan is if they can't find a buyer, they'll try and see those studios through to complete in what has already been announced.”

Of course, Asha Sharma herself once said “the plan’s the plan until it’s not the plan” and so we will simply have to wait and see.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest report? Would it be better or worse if Microsoft were to let these teams finish their projects only to then be shut down regardless? Let us know down below.

One of the biggest announcements during Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase was the official unveiling of Senua – the 3rd entry in Ninja Theory’s Hellblade series. While a welcome surprise, many fans were then wondering what has become of the studio’s previously-teased Project Mara. Unfortunately, according to the team, they “took the decision to not work on that any further.”

Taking part in a lengthy interview via the Xbox Wire blog, Ninja Theory’s studio head Dom Matthews was asked about the upcoming Senua, their reasons for not going with the title Hellblade 3 and the renewed focus on combat and gameplay.

In amongst these discussions, Matthews took time to speak on Project Mara. For the uninitiated, this was pitched back in 2020 as a horror experience focused around “real-world and grounded representation of mental terror”. At the time, Ninja theory shared two teasers: one being a more traditional sneak peek and the other being a developer diary.

Unfortunately, Project Mara has since been scrapped, with Matthews confirming “with the fact that we have the entire team working on [Senua], I suspect some people might ask what’s happened to Project Mara […] I took the decision to not work on that any further.”

Matthews continued, “These decisions are never easy, but I did so to take the opportunity to have all of the talent and expertise in the studio, all 85 creatives, working together to realize the potential of what Senua can be.”

While a disappointing conclusion, hopefully this does mean that Senua will represent Ninja Theory’s best work in a decade (at the very least on the gameplay front).

KitGuru says: What did you think of Project Mara back when it was first announced? Are you disappointed in its cancellation? Do you have high hopes for Senua? Let us know down below.

All the way back in 2019, Microsoft kicked off the announcements for this current generation with a teaser for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Finally launching many years later in 2024, the sequel was met with a somewhat mixed reception owing to its relative lack of gameplay. The team at Ninja Theory seem to have taken this feedback to heart, officially unveiling ‘Senua’ alongside what appears to be tons more gameplay opportunities.

Making the surprise announcement during Microsoft’s recent Xbox Games Showcase, Ninja Theory officially showed off Senua.

The 3rd entry in the studio’s Hellblade series, this upcoming 2027 title is described as “a new action-adventure set in the Hellblade universe” in which “Senua, a Celtic warrior, is trapped between life and death in a fractured vision of purgatory. She must fight to reach the afterlife and reunite with those she loved and lost, battling forces that threaten everything she believes in.”

While it is too early to tell, the trailer shared does seem to show off plenty more gameplay opportunities when compared to the previous entries, including moments of stealth, more free-flowing combat and what appears to be dynamic enemy placements.

This matches previous rumours from earlier this year, in which it was claimed that a new Hellblade game was in development with a focus on being “a bit more interactive than Hellblade 1 and 2.”

Of course, we will have to wait for a bit more of a concrete look at gameplay before coming to any conclusions, but it seems as though Ninja Theory have taken feedback from Senua’s Saga and will be doubling down on gameplay for this upcoming entry.

Senua officially comes to Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and Steam sometime in 2027.

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KitGuru says: What did you think of the Xbox Games Showcase? Were you expecting a new Hellblade game to be announced? Did Hellblade 2’s visuals-first approach bother you? Let us know down below.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 was the unveiling of Senua, an action/adventure game centered on the protagonist of the Hellblade series. In an Xbox Wire blog post, Ninja Theory says the game follows on from Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, but it is intentionally a different kind of experience and should not be treated as Hellblade III. Unlike the previous two Hellblade titles, this is an out-and-out action/adventure. The studio's goal is to keep the intimate storytelling, high production values, and emotional tone that defined Hellblade, while expanding the scope into a broader action-adventure framework. That means deeper […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/ninja-theory-senua-action-adventure-hellblade-ii/