Things are not looking good for Ninja Theory, the creators of the upcoming action-game Senua and the previous Hellblade games, as it seems numerous members of staff have been layed off.

According to VGC and journalist Chris Kerr, Alessio Mellina (technical sound designer), Katrin Mair (gameplay programmer), Xoe Subari (PCap tech staff), Loong-Wei Ding (technical director), Matteo Tummino (sound designer), Matt Le-Fevre (senior technical artist), Pietro Berto (character artist), Justin Pedersen (technical artist) and Daniele Galante (principal sound designer) have all posted on LinkedIn about being laid off and looking for new opportunities.

After some loking around, I can add several more names to the list that have posted about being laid off or in need of new work due to risk of being laid off, including Rachel Kimber (Performance Capture Technician), Will Potter (Marketing and Social Lead). Numerous others also currently have their profile set to “Looking for work” but have not posted whether they have been laid off specifically, or are looking for work as a precaution.

“Unfortunately, two separate agreements for Ninja Theory fell through,” Matt Booty of Xbox said last month. “We will now begin consultation with employees on a proposed closure while continuing to explore other paths forward.”

There’s always a chance the studio might still get picked up, but its looking increasingly bleak for Ninja Theory. And that also means their new game, Senua, which debuted at the Xbox Showcase this year, will likely never be seen, either.

Apparently Microsoft already new they were planning on getting rid of Ninja Theory before they showed off their new game at the Xbox Showcase. It’s believed they allowed Senua to be shown as a way of attracting potential buyers for the studio, but clearly that has not worked out.