On October 5, 2026, multiple Ninja Theory employees publicly confirmed that they had either lost their jobs or were facing redundancy. VGC identified at least nine affected or at-risk staff across several departments, including technical director Loong-Wei Ding, principal sound designer Daniele Galante, gameplay programmer Katrin Mair, technical sound designer Alessio Mellina, and others. Microsoft has not announced a final total, and Ninja Theory has not issued a separate public statement confirming that the studio has formally closed.The situation follows Xbox's major 2026 restructuring. In July, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced plans to eliminate up to 3,200 roles over Microsoft's 2027 fiscal year, with 1,600 of those cuts taking effect immediately. Ninja Theory was one of the studios Microsoft intended to move to new ownership, with funding attached to complete and grow Senua. The game had been announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in June with a planned 2027 release.Image unavailableThose plans later unraveled. Xbox COO Matt Booty said in September that two separate agreements involving Ninja Theory had fallen through. Microsoft then began consultation with employees on a proposed closure while saying it would continue exploring other possible paths forward. Reporting also indicated that Xbox had already planned to sell the studio when Senua was revealed and used the announcement partly to attract potential buyers.The future of Senua is therefore unclear. Microsoft filed a new US trademark application for the Senua name on September 16, 2026, indicating that it is continuing to protect the brand, but that filing does not guarantee the game will be completed. VGC reports that the project was targeting 2027, while one departing gameplay programmer said the team would not get to finish what it had been working on.For now, the most accurate description is that Ninja Theory faces possible closure rather than that Microsoft has already shut the studio down. Redundancies are underway and the two previously planned agreements failed, but Microsoft has said it is still exploring alternatives during the consultation process.
