[STEAM] New Hellblade That's More of a 'Game' Reportedly In the Works, Ninja Theory No Longer Working on Project Mara

[Steam 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Xbox studio Ninja Theory is working on a third major Hellblade game, a new report has suggested — this time with more interactive elements.

Two Hellblade titles have released to date, featuring celtic warrier Senua in battles against monsters and her own mental health. Both have been widely praised for their visuals and story, though have also caught flak for prioritizing cinematography over gameplay.

A new, third Hellblade title in development at Ninja Theory will respond to that criticism by focusing on being more of a "game," according to Windows Central editor Jez Corden, speaking on the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

podcast. At the same time, Corden said that Ninja Theory was no longer working on

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, an "experimental title" announced by

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

back in 2020.

"From what I understand, the next game [from Ninja Theory] is Hellblade 3," Corden said. "And it's going to be a bit more interactive than Hellblade 1 and 2.

"I don't know what the exact nature of Hellblade 3 is going to be like," he continued, "if it's even going to be Hellblade 3, but it does sound like it's going to be in the Hellblade universe, and it does sound like they want to make it more of a 'game', y'know, and broaden the appeal to some degree."

Project Mara was announced as one of several titles being worked on at Ninja Theory back in 2020, alongside

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, and a separate R&D project described as "an ambitious combination of technology, game design and clinical neuroscience." The years since have revealed that

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

"You guys shouldn't expect Project Mara to be a thing," Corden claimed. "Project Mara was just a concept, it's not a game — and it's not a game they're currently working on. It might be something they work on eventually, but Project Mara is not a game that's currently being worked on at Ninja Theory."

Corden has since doubled down via

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

on his claim that Project Mara was "only ever a concept" rather than a full game — so therefore "the game wasn't cancelled."

Back in 2020, Ninja Theory

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Project Mara as "our new in-development experimental title that explores new ways of storytelling." To date, there's been no further word on what became of the concept or why it was seemingly been abandoned. Last year, it was publicly confirmed that Team Ninja's colourful co-founder Tameem Antoniades had quietly left the studio, something that

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

only acknowledged to

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

after his absence was noted on a press visit.

IGN has contacted

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

for more.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up