A low budget game, but with big ambitions, I have to think that this crossed the minds of 3 types of people, investors of Ninja theorythose who saw its reveal in 2014 at Gamescom and everyone who tried titles like A heavenly sword (PS3 Exclusive) and learned that the studio’s next step was going to be a game that sought to remain conservative after the hesitant reception of a recent DMC (Devil May Cry reboot).
What no one expected was that this game would mark not only a before and after within the studio, but also the first step in the new modern era of gaming. AA. Today, we decided to embark on a somewhat curious story which we know that more than one has not taken into account, how the destiny of a study can take a 180 degree turn when we try to explore new paths.
2014, revealed exclusively for PS4, Hellblade
In 2014, when Gamescom in GermanyNinja Theory revealed its next project, a single-player adventure centered on a Celtic warrior, taking advantage of the renewed engine Unreal Engine 4At first all the launch information indicated that it was only available for PS4 consoles, which didn’t seem strange to anyone after what was seen with Heavenly Sword being exclusive to the PS3, setting a precedent for the relationship between PlayStation and Ninja Theory.
2015, now also on PC, Hellblade leaves total exclusivity on PS4
In early 2015, after various interviews and new information about the title, developers Ninja Theory confirmed that Hellblade would also be released in PC via the store Steam. News that impacted various players in the Sony console, since at that time, lose exclusivity of games, even on platforms that do not belong to direct competition, was seen as a reason to consider the loss of value of the future launch of the title on consoles.
2017, any exclusivity is a success… Or not?
August 8, 2017, exclusively for consoles PS4 Yes PC via Steambeing an average version, defined as independent AA at the price of 29.99 dollars or dollars depending on the region, during its first 3 months of launch, 500,000 copies have been soldbeing a success for the budget invested by the studio and knowing that it was a release exclusively in numerical format.
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2018, finally Hellblade comes to Xbox One and soon after a megaton would fall in the industry
After a more than acceptable launch, Ninja Theory decided to finally release the game in Xbox One consoleswith improvements for the recent Xbox One, being in June where the game exceeded one million copies thanks to this new version. Since the game was announced on Xbox consoles, the discontent of PS4 users will not be long in coming, due to the complete loss of the exclusivity of the title, shortly after this will take a turn rarely seen in the ‘industry.
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An E3 2018, at the Xbox conference, Phil Spencer would announce the first of several waves of acquisitions, one of the five acquired studios would be Ninja Theory, now leaving the Hellblade license within the Xbox catalog. The same year, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will be released on Xbox Game Pass and Physical format for Xbox One and PS4.
2019, A Warrior returns and announces itself with a new console
After a few years on the market, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice would be received as a title of worship and as one of the references within the industry to popularize the medium game version (AA)leaving everyone waiting for what the studio would have to offer, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, being a seemingly conclusive story, had no sign of a following.
During Game rewards of the same year, the term surprise falls short of what Microsoft showed during the event, being the first global reveal of the new Xbox Seriesthe next generation of consoles, scheduled for Christmas 2020, accompanied by this announcement, the first trailer of The Saga of Senua: Hellblade IIthe first next-gen title revealed for and exclusive to the console.
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It is curious to see how certain licenses are released on premise for certain home consoles, but through negotiations and the search for new sales channelsthe presence of these titles is increasing, but it is rare for a change to be as sudden as a change of exclusivity for its continuation, starting with the purchase of the studio itselfnevertheless, with new ways to play like Xbox Game Passmore players will be able to try or learn Senua’s story, starting with Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice And so on The Saga of Senua: Hellblade II.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice left a sum of 1.5 million of reported units sold through 2021, positioning Hellblade as one of the studio’s biggest successes, given its tight budget and small development team, setting a precedent for all AA games and short experiences. You can learn more about the title in this article about its creation.
Ninja Theory is currently part of Xbox Game Studios, with a new budget from Microsoft and an exceptional relationship with Epic Games, which places it as one of the best reference studios in terms of graphic and technical advances in the use of Unreal Engine 5. All their efforts, over the past few years, have been directed towards the development of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, which will soon be released on May 21, 2024and a horror thriller game project titled “Mara Project”.
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