Ninja Theory

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Not to be confused with Team Ninja.

Ninja Theory Limited
DivisionsSenua Studio
Websiteninjatheory.com

Ninja Theory Limited is a

first-party British video game developer for Xbox Game Studios based in Cambridge, England. Notable games it has developed include Kung Fu Chaos, Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
.

Founded by Tameem Antoniades, Nina Kristensen and Mike Ball in March 2000, the company operated under the name Just Add Monsters. It was acquired by

Sony Computer Entertainment saved the team from bankruptcy by funding the development of Heavenly Sword, which was an expensive project. The game's poor sales resulted in Ninja Theory losing all their in-house technologies because of contractual agreements with Sony. The team then moved on to develop Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, an underperforming project in collaboration with writer Alex Garland, and DmC: Devil May Cry, whose design was highly controversial, resulting in the team receiving death threats
.

The team began diversifying its portfolio of games and taking on contract work for publishers after finishing the development of DmC. It also entrusted a small team to develop their first self-published title,

Microsoft Studios (now known as Xbox Game Studios). Several new projects, including virtual reality
games, are under development.

History

Just Add Monsters (2000–2004)

Tameem Antoniades is one of the company's founders.

Tameem Antoniades, Nina Kristensen and Mike Ball founded Just Add Monsters in March 2000 in

kung fu game and brainstormed them for a hack and slash multiplayer game called Kung Fu Chaos in his bedroom. As the team settled on the idea, they began actively looking for investment from major video game publishers, but none of them showed any interest in funding the game. Instead, they offered to buy the small company. As the team began to run out of money, they agreed to be acquired by Argonaut Games in September 2000.[2]

With Argonaut's support and funding, the team was able to move into a proper office, hire 17 more staff and buy the technologies needed to make a video game. The development team assembled a gameplay demo of Kung Fu Chaos and presented it to

Microsoft Games Studios. They were willing to provide funding for the game's development in order to have a strong line-up for their then-upcoming console, the Xbox. The publishing team at Microsoft was described as "helpful", assisting the team in refining the game during its production. Yet Microsoft failed to market the game properly. For example, no advertisements were prepared for the launch. While the game was critically praised, Kung Fu Chaos' sales were hugely disappointing, and the game was a financial failure for the firm. At the time, Antoniades was disappointed and shocked that Microsoft would "send [the game] out to die," but understood Microsoft's decision to put their resources into other more profitable projects.[2]

Before the release of Kung Fu Chaos, the team were already actively developing a sequel titled Kung Fu Chaos 2. The team used feedback from Kung Fu Chaos' players to make the sequel a more mature game. While the team expected the publishing relationship with Microsoft would continue, they declined to fund the sequel since the first game was not warmly welcomed by its audience. As Microsoft retained the

kung fu and Chinese martial arts.[2]

While developing Kung Fu Story, the team closely monitored the games market and realised that both the audience and publishers wanted games based on realism with high production values rather than those that have highly stylised visuals. Recognizing that Kung Fu Story would not fare well with the audience, the team decided to greatly expand the game's scope to satisfy players' demands. The team renamed the game

board of directors.[4]

Heavenly Sword, Enslaved and DmC (2004–2013)

After the company was reestablished, it had very limited capital and could only sustain its operations for three months. At the time, the company employed more than 50 people. The team continued to present Heavenly Sword to various publishers, but their responses were unenthusiastic. Publishers questioned the team's ability to make a technology-intensive game because of their relatively small size. With few options remaining, the team signed a deal with

Sony Computer Entertainment in May 2005. This saved the company from bankruptcy at the cost of IP and technology rights. The title would now become a PlayStation 3 exclusive.[2] According to Antoniades, negotiating the deal with Sony was "soul-destroyingly difficult".[5]

Andy Serkis served as the "dramatic director" for Heavenly Sword, and provided motion capture for both the game and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

Fueled by the ambition to be "a top studio in the world", Ninja Theory had lofty goals for Heavenly Sword.

Weta Digital and Andy Serkis, who became the title's "dramatic director".[6] The company employed more than 100 people to work on the game, which took four-and-a-half years to develop. Sony actively interfered with the game's development, diminishing the team's creative freedom. It pressured them to produce a game that "fit in more with what a standard action-adventure video game should be". Many features were removed from the game during the final production stages to meet project deadlines.[7] The game received generally positive reviews from critics when it was released in September 2007, and subsequently gained a cult following.[7][2] However, sales did not meet expectations, and the title did not break even.[8]

Ninja Theory then began working on a sequel, but they had employed so many people to work on the title it did not fit with the "cost-analysis model of AAA production". Once the team engaged in the development of the sequel, it would become their only project; the company could not seek other opportunities. Not wanting to dissolve the entire team to work on the sequel, Ninja Theory decided to leave Heavenly Sword and all the technologies built for it to Sony and seek external funding from another publisher for their next project. According to Antoniades, it was a "heart-breaking moment".[2]

While researching Heavenly Sword's

Namco Bandai Games agreed to publish the game.[2] Using only two-thirds of the budget of Heavenly Sword, the team hired Alex Garland to write the game's story. Antoniades found Garland "intimidating" to work with,[10] though Garland found the team "friendly". Garland often argued with Antoniades over the inclusion of boss fights, and became involved with the game's design. Andy Serkis returned to do motion capture, and Nitin Sawhney, composer for Heavenly Sword, returned to write Enslaved's music.[11]

Enslaved was positively reviewed by critics when it was released in October 2010. However, like previous Ninja Theory projects, the market responded unenthusiastically, and it was a commercial failure. While Ninja Theory developed a piece of single-player downloadable content (DLC), titled Pigsy's Perfect 10,[12] the multiplayer DLC that was in development was cancelled after the lukewarm reception.[13] Immediately after the completion of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, publisher Capcom chose Ninja Theory to develop the next entry in the Devil May Cry series, as it was impressed by the company's past work, especially on Heavenly Sword.[14] Capcom intentionally selected a western developer so that they could "add western flair to a traditionally Japanese-styled game", and granted the company plenty of creative freedom. Hideaki Itsuno supervised the entire project.[15][16] The team came up with a new design for series' protagonist Dante, which generated backlash and some criticism. Some fans sent Ninja Theory death threats, of which some were sent in the form of comics and death metal songs.[17] Antoniades responded to fan displeasure over the redesign by saying that "The essence of Devil May Cry is all about 'cool'" and that the design from the PS2 era "isn't cool anymore."[18] Despite being a controversial project, DmC: Devil May Cry received critical acclaim when it was released in January 2013. It was a commercial success for Ninja Theory. The title reached the top of the United Kingdom, United States, European and Japanese retail software sales charts. For the first time, the team received royalties from a project.[2] Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry collectively sold approximately 4.5 million units.[2]

Independent AAA (2013–2018)

With the introduction of the

Chillingo to release a free-to-play mobile game named Fightback.[19] According to Antoniades, Fightback was a learning experience for the studio as they explored the "games as a service" models, mobile technology, touch screen controls and realised the competitive nature of the mobile games market.[2]

"We also pitched with Alex, a co-op story based game set in the real world with real characters only to be told that

super heroes and space marines would sell better so 'why don't you set it on Mars
?'. That was the end of that game."

—Tameem Antoniades, founder of Ninja Theory on a failed pitch

The company began experimenting with smaller titles, unsuccessfully pitching them to publishers. They pitched a horror game to Garland. Publishers asked for the addition of melee combat and then informed the team that neither horror nor melee combat was popular in the games market. Ninja Theory and Garland pitched another four-player cooperative gameplay experience set in the real world featuring real characters, but publishers insisted that sci-fi or fantasy elements be added to it so the game would sell. The company also experimented with a multiplayer-based melee-combat game. Publishers were reluctant to fund it as the project did not have a single-player component, the team was inexperienced and an action melee game was unlikely to be profitable.[2]

In early 2013, the company tried to develop a game that suited publishers' requirements, while also remaining creative. The project, known as Razor, is a multiplayer game that mixes gunplay and melee combat. It features an extensive story and a

Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes and Disney Infinity 3.0. This helped sustain the company's operations.[20][21]

The failure of Razor,[2] and questions from Garland about why the gaming development scene did not have many independent projects similar to the independent film industry[22] prompted the team to begin to evaluate the idea of "independent AAA", where the team would own the intellectual property and publish the game themselves without mainstream game publishers. The game would still have high production values but would be sold at a lower price. The team firmly believed that there was "a middle ground between the low budget pure indie development and AAA [projects]". The team opted not to use Kickstarter having decided to fund it themselves.[2] This led to the creation of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, which had a team of only 15 people working on it.[23] Since the game had a small budget, the studio did not promote the game heavily with advertisements instead creating numerous developer diaries for players who were interested in it.[24][25] The team collaborated with several technology companies like 3Lateral, Cubic Motion and Xsens to help with motion capture, which allowed the actors to preview their performance while acting.[22] In September 2016, Ninja Theory announced their Senua Studio division, which would work on real-time virtual character technology.[26] As the game explored mental illness and psychosis, the company consulted professional neuroscientists and obtained financial backing from the Wellcome Trust.[23] After a three-year development cycle Hellblade was a critical success when it launched in August 2017, with praise for its depiction of mental illnesses. The game was also a commercial success, becoming profitable within three months of its release,[27] generating more than $13 million with sales of more than 500,000 units.[28] The game was nominated for nine awards and won five at the 14th British Academy Games Awards. Antoniades considered the critical acclaim validation that the independent AAA business model worked.[29]

The company has several titles in development, both traditional and virtual reality projects. As for the future, Antoniades shared: "We've got other projects on the go, led by different team members who have their own personal slant on what they want to do, and they're not serious subjects, they are much more fun, traditional games if you like."[29]

Acquisition by Microsoft (2018–present)

On 10 June 2018, during

Microsoft Studios.[30] Studio creative director Tameem Antoniades said that they opted for the acquisition as "We want to be free from the AAA machine and make games focused on the experience, not around monetization", and would allow them to continue building smaller, risky games with creative independence.[31] For Microsoft, Ninja Theory was seen as a studio that would produce good content that fits with the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, according to head of Microsoft Studios Matt Booty.[32]

In October 2019, Ninja Theory announced the establishment of a

Xbox Series X.[34]

The studio teased a new experimental game, Project: Mara in January 2020. Antoniades said that Project: Mara "will be a real-world and grounded representation of true mental terror" and "will be based heavily on research, interviews, and firsthand accounts to recreate the horrors of the mind as accurately and believably as possible."[35]

In April 2024, Polygon reported that co-founder and chief creative director Tameem Antoniades left Ninja Theory.[36] He subsequently confirmed his departure on social media, expressing his desire to leave the company after the first Hellblade, but decided to stay for 2 more years to help with the transition.[37]

Philosophy

Ninja Theory's initial goal was to create a blockbuster title for major publishers, so they could gain a place in the triple-A gaming scene.[38] However, the team slowly realised that the publisher model was restraining developers' creative vision, making the games more conservative and risk-averse.[39] As a result, the team put forward the notion of the "independent AAA proposition" where the title would have a smaller budget and lower price point while retaining AAA production values. The developer would communicate directly with the player base without any publisher's help to get players to play early versions of the game and provide feedback.[40] With the success of Hellblade, the company urged other small independent companies wanting to increase the production value of their games to adopt this new business model. Ninja Theory reiterated the company did not "hate" publishers,[41] and that they would still be doing "work-for-hire, publisher work and original work" in the future.[29]

Antoniades described creativity and narrative as "core" to the studio.

heads up display were cited as examples.[43]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s)
2003 Kung Fu Chaos Xbox
2007 Heavenly Sword PlayStation 3
2010 Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360[44]
2013 DmC: Devil May Cry Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Fightback iOS
2014
Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes[a]
 iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
2015 DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Disney Infinity 3.0[a] Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
2017 Dexed Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
2018 Nicodemus: Demon of Evanishment Location-based VR experience[45]
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice VR Microsoft Windows
2019 A Star Wars VR Series: Vader Immortal – Episode I Oculus Quest,[46] Oculus Rift
2020 Bleeding Edge Microsoft Windows, Xbox One
2024 Senua's Saga: Hellblade II Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S
TBA Project: Mara TBA

Notes

  1. ^ a b Additional work

References

  1. ^ Ninja Theory (22 January 2020). The Dreadnought Diaries 1 | The Mission (Ninja Theory). YouTube. Event occurs at 7:07. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Antoniades, Tameem (10 August 2017). "The Independent AAA Proposition". Ninja Theory. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  3. ^ Adams, David (15 November 2004). "Just Add Monsters Reborn". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  4. GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Archived
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  9. ^ Purchese, Robert (19 November 2009). "Enslaved: Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory talks up its next adventure". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  10. ^ Purchese, Robert (16 July 2017). "Alex Garland "intimidating" – Ninja Theory". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
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  12. ^ "Namco Bandai Announces Pigsy Perfect 10 Premium DLC For Enslaved: Odyssey To The West". IGN. Ziff Davis. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  13. VG 247. Archived
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  14. ^ Ciolek, Todd (17 October 2012). "The X Button". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
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  16. ^ "Capcom devs describe the 'long-distance romance' with Ninja Theory that led to DmC". Polygon. Vox Media. 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  17. ^ Plunkett, Luke (1 June 2012). "Developer Receives Death Threats Over New Devil May Cry Game". Kotaku. Gizmodo Media Group. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  18. ^ Richardson, Kenneth (29 September 2010). "Ninja Theory Addresses Dante's Redesign". Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
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  21. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (13 May 2015). "Fighting The Clone Wars: Ninja Theory's Take On Star Wars". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
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    Oath Inc. Archived
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  23. ^ a b Phillips, Tom (10 June 2015). "Ninja Theory's Hellblade to tackle mental health, backed by Wellcome Trust". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  24. ^ Reynolds, Matthew (29 March 2013). "How Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was made as an 'indie triple-A' game on a tight budget". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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  28. ^ Purchese, Robert (22 November 2017). "500,000 sales in 3 months: the risk Ninja Theory took with Hellblade paid off". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  29. ^ a b c Roberts, Samuel (26 April 2018). "What's next for Ninja Theory after Hellblade". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  30. ^ "Microsoft Game Studios just added five new studios including Ninja Theory". 10 June 2018. Archived from the original on 10 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  31. ^ Grant, Christopher (10 June 2018). "Ninja Theory joined Microsoft 'to be free from the AAA machine'". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
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  34. ^ Takahashi, Dean (12 December 2019). "Microsoft shows Senua's Saga: Hellblade II for Xbox Series X". VentureBeat.
  35. ^ McWhertor, Michael (22 January 2020). "Ninja Theory teases new 'experimental' horror game Project: Mara". Polygon. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  36. ^ Welsh, Oli (4 April 2024). "Hellblade 2 will finally show us what an Unreal Engine 5 game can do". Polygon. Archived from the original on 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  37. ^ Antoniades, Tameem (5 April 2024). "Cat's out the bag!". Instagram. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
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  40. ^ a b Chapple, Criag (13 August 2014). "Why Ninja Theory is taking independent creativity over publisher checklists". MCV. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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  43. ^ Takahashi, Dean (22 October 2017). "Game boss interview: Tameem Antoniades's journey into madness with Hellblade". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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  45. ^ "Ninja Theory on Twitter: "Check out Nicodemus: Demon of Evanishment - a location-based VR experience created by Ninja Theory in partnership with our friends @voidvr! #EscapeNicodemus"".
  46. ^ "Vader Immortal, a Star Wars VR series, has a Ninja Theory connection". VG247. 26 September 2018. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.

External links

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