You guys — bad news hitting hard this week, and it's going to ripple through a lot of what we love about Xbox. The Verge reports that Microsoft is shutting down Ninja Theory, the studio behind Hellblade, with staff getting informed via a call on Monday (June 15). Both Tom Warren and Jay Peters are reporting on it separately — good coverage from both teams. This isn't a sudden radio silence; news has broken over several days as details emerged. The Verge even reached out to Microsoft for comment but hasn't heard back yet, which tells you the situation is still developing.
This isn't just one studio going south, though — Compulsion Games and Double Fine are also in "active negotiations" about spinning off from Microsoft. Bloomberg reported those two separately; both were Kadokawa-owned before Activision acquired them, so their positions are fundamentally different but related to the bigger picture. Earlier this week Kotaku had already reported that Compulsion was slated for closure on Monday — which was later clarified as an active negotiation instead of a shutdown. So you have three studios in flux from one larger organizational shift at Microsoft over just a few days.
Here's why it's happening, because there's actually some logic behind the decision even if we hate to see it: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma — took charge back in February 2025 — and CCO Matt Booty recently announced they need a reset on the entire studio system, which was overextended and driving up costs. This follows their latest announcement of Hellblade Senua at the recent Games Showcase along with Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution as exclusive titles, so we don't know exactly where Senua lands in this reshuffle. The broader message is that Microsoft is looking to consolidate rather than keep adding more studios — it makes sense given current economic pressures.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/games/950204/xbox-ninja-theory-shutdown-hellblade-senua
This isn't just one studio going south, though — Compulsion Games and Double Fine are also in "active negotiations" about spinning off from Microsoft. Bloomberg reported those two separately; both were Kadokawa-owned before Activision acquired them, so their positions are fundamentally different but related to the bigger picture. Earlier this week Kotaku had already reported that Compulsion was slated for closure on Monday — which was later clarified as an active negotiation instead of a shutdown. So you have three studios in flux from one larger organizational shift at Microsoft over just a few days.
Here's why it's happening, because there's actually some logic behind the decision even if we hate to see it: Xbox CEO Asha Sharma — took charge back in February 2025 — and CCO Matt Booty recently announced they need a reset on the entire studio system, which was overextended and driving up costs. This follows their latest announcement of Hellblade Senua at the recent Games Showcase along with Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution as exclusive titles, so we don't know exactly where Senua lands in this reshuffle. The broader message is that Microsoft is looking to consolidate rather than keep adding more studios — it makes sense given current economic pressures.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/games/950204/xbox-ninja-theory-shutdown-hellblade-senua