Xbox studio Ninja Theory is working on a third main Hellblade recreation, a new report has recommended — this time with extra interactive components.
Two Hellblade titles have launched up to now, that includes celtic warrier Senua in battles in opposition to monsters and her personal psychological well being. Each have been extensively praised for his or her visuals and story, although have additionally caught flak for prioritizing cinematography over gameplay.
A brand new, third Hellblade title in improvement at Ninja Theory will reply to that criticism by focusing on being extra of a “recreation,” in line with Home windows Central editor Jez Corden, talking on the Xbox Two podcast. At the similar time, Corden stated that Ninja Theory was now not working on Project Mara, an “experimental title” introduced by Microsoft again in 2020.
“From what I perceive, the subsequent recreation [from Ninja Theory] is Hellblade 3,” Corden stated. “And it may be a bit extra interactive than Hellblade 1 and a pair of.
“I do not know what the actual nature of Hellblade 3 goes to be like,” he continued, “if it is even going to be Hellblade 3, however it does sound like it may be in the Hellblade universe, and it does sound like they need to make it extra of a ‘recreation’, y’know, and broaden the enchantment to a point.”
Project Mara was introduced as one of a number of titles being labored on at Ninja Theory again in 2020, alongside Hellblade 2, Bleeding Edge, and a separate R&D undertaking described as “an bold mixture of know-how, recreation design and medical neuroscience.” The years since have revealed that the studio has been working with Microsoft’s generative AI mannequin Muse as half of a undertaking that is generate clips of simulated gameplay.
Xbox Video games Sequence Tier Checklist
Xbox Video games Sequence Tier Checklist
“You guys should not anticipate Project Mara to be a factor,” Corden claimed. “Project Mara was simply a idea, it isn’t a recreation — and it isn’t a recreation they’re at present working on. It is perhaps one thing they work on finally, however Project Mara just isn’t a recreation that is at present being labored on at Ninja Theory.”
Corden has since doubled down through social media on his declare that Project Mara was “solely ever a idea” moderately than a full recreation — so subsequently “the recreation wasn’t cancelled.”
Again in 2020, Ninja Theory described Project Mara as “our new in-development experimental title that explores new methods of storytelling.” Up to now, there’s been no additional phrase on what turned of the idea or why it was seemingly been deserted. Final 12 months, it was publicly confirmed that Workforce Ninja’s vibrant co-founder Tameem Antoniades had quietly left the studio, one thing that Microsoft solely acknowledged to Polygon after his absence was famous on a press go to.
IGN has contacted Microsoft for extra.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You’ll be able to attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social