The studio behind the Hellblade series is closing. At the same time, the head of Microsoft claims that games simply do not make enough money.
For gamers, this is one of the horror news that one doesn’t really want to read. But Microsoft, or rather the Xbox division, is parting ways with the studio “Ninja Theory,” which will be closed. The future of the Hellblade series is uncertain; it probably will not continue.
What kind of studio is this? Ninja Theory was founded in 2000 and has released over a dozen games since then. It started with “Kung Fu Chaos” on the Xbox, followed later by Heavenly Sword on the PlayStation 3. Several installments of the “Devil May Cry” series were also developed by Ninja Theory.
In recent years, the studio has been mainly known for the Hellblade series. Just recently, the third part of the series was announced – a game that will probably never be released now.
According to Bloomberg, Ninja Theory is one of “several” studios currently in discussions regarding closure.
What does the CEO of Microsoft say? Satya Nadella also commented at a New York Times event (on YouTube) and explained what the big problem in gaming is currently: Games are simply not monetized strongly enough. He says:
The challenge is that we have not monetized this form of entertainment sufficiently. In fact, when you consider everything, this form of entertainment is rather cross-subsidized. In fact, Xbox games are monetized more on YouTube than at Microsoft.
Some gamers may already be nervously twitching their eyelids. Nadella further explained:
This does not mean that we will do things that feel unnatural. We want to do what is really our job, which is to build great games and great hardware, but we have to do it in an economically sustainable way.
In other words: Make more money, which of course needs to be paid by someone. The players who are already complaining about rising costs in their hobby.
What this means for the future of gaming remains to be seen, even if the options are likely limited. Rising prices for games, the increase of microtransactions (which often no longer deserve the term “micro”), or a stronger integration of advertising are probably all options that players around the world should mentally prepare for. We have already reported on this, that gaming is becoming a luxury and that is bad for everyone.
Many are currently concerned that Microsoft (and Xbox) will abandon more expensive projects that will not be profitable in the near future. This can already be noticed, as a large project, such as the announced survival MMO was almost immediately canceled after Microsoft took over.
What do you think about the future of gaming? Will games increasingly become a luxury hobby that soon won’t be affordable anymore? Is the CEO of Microsoft just speaking the truth or does gaming need to take other paths to become profitable again without demanding even more money from players? Let’s discuss this in the comments!
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