MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Ninja Theory’s most recent release, Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice has sold nearly 500,000 units, and according to the developer, is already profitable.
The game, an independent triple-A title that caused much discussion on its release around its saving mechanic, was released on August 8th and since then, it has already exceeded the expectations Ninja Theory had for it. The studio released a developer diary, shown below, that details a lot of its thoughts on the game, post-release.
"I knew that we’d made a really strange game, said creative chief ninja, Tameem Antoniades. "One that some people would love and that some people would hate, and so our average review score was bound to suffer. Creatively we hit a home run, but our other major goal was to prove that there was a space between indie and AAA games that could work commercially."
Also speaking on the video was commercial director, Dominic Matthews, who offered Ninja Theory’s advice to anyone wanting to follow the developer’s model for development and publishing. "We hope this message gains traction with other developers," said Matthews. "If you’re a developer like us, searching for independence and with a track record, then get in touch. We’ve been through this journey, so perhaps we can help.
Ninja Theory has constantly kept in touch with its community via developer diary videos both during and post-release. In October, the developer also donated sales of the game to charity in support of World Mental Health Day.
