Xbox continues to be a source of chaos this week as the industry braces for what is shaping up to be a devastating couple of weeks/months. One of the studios that is seemingly facing closure or being spun-off is Ninja Theory, fresh off revealing its brand new game at the Xbox Showcase just two weeks ago. It turns out, the timing may have been very deliberate by Xbox.

According to Stephen Totilo of the Game File, a source within the company told him that by time the Senua trailer was shown at the Showcase, Microsoft had already made the decision to get rid of Ninja Theory. So why put a trailer for a game you aren’t even going to be publishing front and centre?

Well, in a weird turn of events Totilo’s source confirms a theory I kicked around with some other people on Reddit: ” The thinking was that the promise of a newly announced game would help draw investor interest in the studio, a source familiar with Microsoft’s plans told Game File.”

Totilo also says he’s unsure if anyone in Ninja Theory’s leadership was a part of this plan.

If there’s even the tiniest sliver of good news to be taken from this debacle, it’s that at least Xbox is attempting to sell Ninja Theory rather than just shut it down outright. There’s a chance the company could be bought by someone else. And if that falls through, current reporting says that Ninja Theory – along with Double Fine, Compulsion and Arkane Lyon – are all in negotiations with Microsoft to find ways to stay open, such as being allowed to go independent.

With luck, some of them might at least make it, albeit with heavy casualties. I already noted yesterday that 7 employees had left Compulsion Games on Monday, June 15. Any company that survives the culling at this point still faces the possibility of heavy layoffs regardless of whether they stay with Xbox, get bought or go independent.

Going back to Ninja Theory, the company has been struggling over the years. It’s Hellblade/Senua games have been interesting artistic projects but have not done financially very well. The new Senua game seems like a correction, taking their awesome idea of a warrior who suffers from schizophrenia and focusing it a deeper combat system this time around to fight back against people who felt the last game was lacking in….well, game.

Ninja Theory’s in-house performance capture setup is often cited by fans as a valuable asset, but public filings do not appear to support the idea that it is a major third-party revenue generator. The company’s recent accounts show most turnover coming from Microsoft-linked intercompany recharge income, while contract income remained comparatively small. Basically, their performance capture is valuable for their own work and could be turned into a money generator if leased out, but I don’t think it would be enough to keep them afloat independently without Senua becoming a a success or major outside funding coming into play.