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[Darsxx82]

I don't know, but my feeling reading this thread and Twitter is that there are a lot of people wanting MS to close NT. There is no other reason for such insistence on reaffirming the possibility that MS closes a Studio whose capacity, value of its games and productivity are then criticized by the same people

It's like: "NT is a disaster and not at all productive that makes niche games that no one likes and are not profitable..." and then it's: "Poor NT, MS doesn't trust the Studios it buys and only thinks about firing and reduce costs by destroying the creativity of Studios and developers"

It's as easy as waiting and seeing events in times where no editor's studio is safe. Imagine that in 2, 3 or 4 years NT is launching a new game and the discussion is whether MS should have closed it and not given it a new chance

 

[CamHostage]

Can't speculate on fate beyond what's already been mentioned, but I am pretty convinced Project Mara isn't ever going to happen, if it's not already dead.

Mara was announced 4 years and generally no mention has been made since, it was an "experimental" shorter project but it's still taking a long time to get made, it seemed like an Antoniades pet/test project and he is gone, it may have gotten some charitable investment/writeoff from whatever the backer was for The Insight Project group but that was a while ago (and probably accomplished some of its mission in HB2, which covers some of the same ground of mental status anyway,) its possible that Mara is in the bankable Horror genre but otherwise there's not a clear answer of how it would sell, it's another new franchise and Xbox is having a hard enough time getting a second Hellblade to be noticed, descriptions seem to be even further from the action hits that MS we can assume bought NT mostly for (at least Hellblade has sword fights, even though some want them to play differently, ) it's experiments in photogrammetry and extreme resolution closeups are not as neat today, and just it's not making sense as the next major project after what was already an artsy-fartsy game here (even though HB2 still has potential to break theough like the first one did. )

Whatever friendly conditions there were for MS to greenlighting this 4 years ago have changed drastically since. Now, it's hard to think of how this project could be a survivor. (Or even should be? Would this really be heartbreaking if it ended up vaporware and Ninja Theory did something else instead?) I'm speculating here, but...

RIP Mara, 2020-??

 

[Arsic]

Greenlit now doesn’t mean red stopped after a bomb launch lol.

 

[adamsapple]

Gaz said it first, on a discord they both attend.
Gaz also reconfirms what else he told him in the tweet, which can be understood by the wording “As I said”.

Neither jez's article nor his tweet say anything about gaz or his discord.

You're assuming things.

 

[Fafalada]

NT is safe until MS pivots their next project into Gacha/GaaS/MMO/F2P.
Then the clock starts ticking down for next 2-3 years ...

 

[bitbydeath]

Neither jez's article nor his tweet say anything about gaz or his discord.

You're assuming things.

I mean, you’re assuming it’s not.
Doesn’t seem that hard to follow. IMO.

 

[adamsapple]

I mean, you’re assuming it’s not.
Doesn’t seem that hard to follow. IMO.

Yes because nothing leads to that conclusion.

Once you have confirmation that Jiz sourced Gaz for his news, come back then.

 

[bitbydeath]

Yes because nothing leads to that conclusion.

Once you have confirmation that Jiz sourced Gaz for his news, come back then.

As I said, you can draw your own response from what was written.

You can read the above as a response to you or disregard it as though it were not written to you, even though I also used the words “As I said” which Gaz had replied to Jez.

 

[Badlucktroll]

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

 

[adamsapple]

As I said, you can draw your own response from what was written.

You can read the above as a response to you or disregard it as though it were not written to you, even though I also used the words “As I said” which Gaz had replied to Jez

No, you're just drawing a false parallel here.

Gaz's discord says hellblade 3 is 'under works' by name, if Jiz was sourcing it, his Windows Central article or tweet would have said the same.

 

[FIREKNIGHT2029]

 

[AmuroChan]

At this point, I don't believe anything MS says when it comes to their studios.

 

[@gkTH]

Wow. I feel of full trust from gamers here.
Go Go, Microsoft. Let acquire other studio.. and shut it!

 

[Flabagast]

 

[ungalo]

Can Microsoft at least cancel Project Mara please ? Do something useful for once.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

I generally enjoy NT games. But I’ve never loved any of them.

 

[Rockman33]

With a portfolio like this, I'm surprised they haven't shut down already. Their last "hit" was Hellblade in 2017, 7 years ago.

Bleeding Edge was a huge flop in 2020 (perfect for Game Pass). Their next game is 4 years later and is kind of a short indie game. If it's a sales disappointment then I don't blame MS for giving them the boot.

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

If that was what should happen then we would have never gotten helldivers 2.

Also how is this sort of a indie game? Because it’s short?

 

[bitbydeath]

No, you're just drawing a false parallel here.

Gaz's discord says hellblade 3 is 'under works' by name, if Jiz was sourcing it, his Windows Central article or tweet would have said the same.

Likely he didn’t want to mention it because it makes the rumour seem less likely.

 

[Neolombax]

Consolidation was such a collosal mistake

 

[semiconscious]

With a portfolio like this, I'm surprised they haven't shut down already. Their last "hit" was Hellblade in 2017, 7 years ago.

Bleeding Edge was a huge flop in 2020 (perfect for Game Pass). Their next game is 4 years later and is kind of a short indie game. If it's a sales disappointment then I don't blame MS for giving them the boot.

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

the good news? with media molecule still around, none of these other contenders can ever be labeled as 'the least productive game studio'...

 

[ungalo]

Wait, so the next game being greenlit is Hellblade 3 ? Is it a joke ?

 

[Pelao]

There are no plans whatsoever to close the studio​

See you all at the necrobump.

 

[Punished Miku]

Wait, so the next game being greenlit is Hellblade 3 ? Is it a joke ?

They might be able to make it faster now.

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

Hellblade was console exclusive to PlayStation for like 6 months before coming to Xbox. Hellblade 2 is now Microsoft exclusive (with no confirmed, but potential later release to PlayStation). So people have to pretend they now hate this game.

You mean like how you're pretending that the original hellblade was some universally praised, megahit with ps4 players? And not the niche, sub 10 hour game with almost no gameplay that it was in reality?
This game, along with Redfall got promoted and pitched to the xbox fanbase because of the terrible state of xboxs first party for the last 10 years or so.

 

[Bernardougf]

You thought wrong, Microsoft reiterated they need small games as well as the AAA ones. If you only listen to Gaf you'll get alot of fake news when it comes to Xbox/Microsoft.

Yeah Gaf and their fake news.... Microsoft is all about truth bombs and consistency... keep it up so I can laugh more please

 

[Agent_4Seven]

 

[Frwrd]

I'm subbing via doritos.

 

[Frwrd]

Jez’s source was Gaz.

Two cucks—one Box.

 

[Frwrd]

I dont care if PS5 players want to buy it or not. But if they dont want to buy it then just stop acting like they care if the studio is open. People can like whatever they want. Just dont be a liar.

Dude are you for real right now…

 

[Danjin44]

Project Mara you say?

 

[Perrott]

I hope they show something from Mara - or even shadowdrop it - at the Xbox Showcase.

A P.T. style experimental psychological horror game has a hell of a lot more potential than the creatively bankrupt sequel to Hellblade that didn't seem to have evolved the original's formula in any significant way.

 

[Roberts]

If I was running a game studio and people on twitter and forums would predict its closure by the end of the year, I would probably make a jokey post like NT did. Some pro level trolling and good for engagement.

Anyway, can't wait to witness H2 later today!

 

[djjinx2]

Did someone say Mara?

Spoiler

CoD fans should at least get it

 

[MayauMiao]

Oh, and no, it's not a "goodbye" message like some are spinning.

Its a sign.

 

[acm2000]

Ninja Theory are perfect game pass studio, only around 80 Devs producing incredible looking experiences for relatively little money, they are not a AAA studio.

 

[Chechack]

I

But the experts on GAF say they’re getting shut down any day now, that their unreleased Hellblade sequel is already a complete flop. GAF wrong on Xbox?

Imagine being this delusional and naive and still trusting xbox

 

[midnightAI]

Ninja Theory are perfect game pass studio, only around 80 Devs producing incredible looking experiences for relatively little money, they are not a AAA studio.

Yes they are, they produce AAA quality games, same with Housemarque since being bought by Sony. Returnal is a AAA game and so is Hellblade 2

In fact, before they got bought by MS they even called themselves 'independent AAA'

Edit: and Hellblade 2 took longer to make than Returnal and will have had a much bigger budget

 

[SmokSmog]

 

[GymWolf]

 

[GymWolf]

Forget Arcane, Tango was being praised by Bond 3 months ago

 

[midnightAI]

I was trying to come up with some kind of James Bond joke to work in there, about 'I expect you to die Mr Bond' but couldnt get it to work right, so well played

Edit:
Bond: 'So will Ninja Theory stay open?'
Spencer: 'No, Mrs Bond, I expect it to die'

No? ok, I tried

(editted again, makes more sense in regards to the Bond films)

 

[Filben]

"No plans" means no plans today. PRspeak is only valid in that minute. For very short time periods we have a saying in German: from 12pm to noon ("von 12 bis Mittag"). That's exactly how long I believe their statement is true.

 

[acm2000]

Yes they are, they produce AAA quality games, same with Housemarque since being bought by Sony. Returnal is a AAA game and so is Hellblade 2

In fact, before they got bought by MS they even called themselves 'independent AAA'

Edit: and Hellblade 2 took longer to make than Returnal and will have had a much bigger budget

you clearly have a different definition of "AAA"

 

[midnightAI]

you clearly have a different definition of "AAA"

So they call themselves AAA and you say they arent, .... ok, I guess

 

[acm2000]

So they call themselves AAA and you say they arent, .... ok, I guess

and ubisoft called games AAAA

 

[midnightAI]

and ubisoft called games AAAA

Ubisoft are dickheads

 

[laynelane]

It's notable that this kind of reassurance is being put out there at this time - instead of solely focusing on the release of HB2. Consolidating so many studios under one mantle has been just as worrying and disappointing as many of us thought it would be.

 

[mdkirby]

Doesn’t mean much. Greenlit games are cancelled all the time. Hell, some games get cancelled not far from release after years of development because “market conditions” mean they determine it’s not worth the marketing spend and would rather have a tax write off.

 

[thismeinteil]

But the experts on GAF say they’re getting shut down any day now, that their unreleased Hellblade sequel is already a complete flop. GAF wrong on Xbox?

If you mean GAF Xbox fans have been wrong, then you would be right. Let's just go over a few off the top of my head.

Power Gap
Series X Crushing in DF Comparisons
Series S Being a Bright Move
Halo Infinite Turning Things Around
Bethesda Purchase Being A Huge Boost To Xbox
Redfall Turning Things Around
Starfield Being GOTG/Turning Things Around
GamePass Being A Huge Success/The Future
GamePass Helping Game Sales
ABK Purchase Being A Huge Boost To Xbox
Xbox Exclusives Not Coming To PS5
Xbox Not Going Full 3rd Party (Pending)

It's funny how neutral gamers and PS fans have been more accurate about Xbox than their actual diehard fans. I guess that's what happens when you actually look at the signs around you and not believe whatever PR your fave company feeds you, regardless of how many times they have lied.