The cost of Xbox's 2018 acquisition of Ninja Theory has been revealed as part of the ongoing battle between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission. The case is in regard to Xbox's $70 billion attempt to acquire the whole of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard. The buyout, first announced by Xbox early on in 2022, is still in the throes of legal examination a year and a half later.
Before Xbox began purchasing major publishers such as Bethesda and the currently pending Activision Blizzard, it started with making a few smaller acquisitions of individual development studios. E3 2018 saw the western platform holder reveal five whole studios to join the Xbox Game Studios family. Included alongside Playground Games, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, and the creation of a new studio in The Initiative was Ninja Theory, the creators of the Nordic third-person action adventure hit Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, which released a year prior. The acquisition of these five studios marked the beginning of Xbox's studio shopping spree that would see the likes of Obsidian Entertainment, Double Fine Productions, and later all of Bethesda join Xbox in the years following.
Now, during the currently unfolding Microsoft vs FTC battle over Activision Blizzard, and ultimately Call of Duty, documents regarding Xbox's proposed acquisition offer to popular Japanese publisher Sega in 2020 have been made public for the first time. In the pages it's revealed that Microsoft spent only $117 million USD to acquire the studio behind Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. This figure does seem small for a game studio buyout, however, it makes more sense when considering that Ninja Theory was a relatively small team when making Hellblade, despite the title's impressive AAA production value.
With a 2024 release window revealed for the long awaited Hellblade 2 at Xbox's recent showcase, Xbox's investment in Ninja Theory is looking to pay off in a big way. Xbox's first party portfolio has been lacking strong, narrative driven third-person titles for quite a long time now and Ninja Theory, with Xbox's support, seems capable of beginning to fill that gap for the gaming brand.
Ninja Theory has the potential to become one of Xbox's top studios down the road. If this turns out to be the case, purchasing the talented studio for only $117 million will be considered a steal, if it isn't already. As the battle for Activision Blizzard between Microsoft and the FTC barrels ahead it will be interesting to see whether any other information about Xbox or any of its acquisitions will be publicly uncovered.
Source: Pure Xbox