Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice in Digital Hell No More Physical Release Available Now

505 Games recently teamed up with developer Ninja Theory to release their action adventure game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to retail.

[Sm00thNinja]

Got mine in the mail today installing it now. But just beat Yakuza Kiwami 2 waiting for the install what a horrid cliffhanger for people who played the original ID HAVE DIED SEEING THAT AND NOT KNOWING WHAT HAPPENED LOL

EDIT:. NVM after credits..... Lol

[lxeasy]

Damn the title of this article is really extreme I had no idea what they meant at first lmaol

[BradsGamingPlace]

I thought the title of the article meant it was in digital hell with the physical release being cancelled. Lel.

[Nerdmaster]

I opened this page just to make some sense of the really bad title.

[MadLad]

im a jornalist

[slasaru01]

Man, same here. A title made by a third grader

[Fist4achin]

Yeah, i felt the same and had to check as well.

[djsilke45]

horrible article title

[AK91]

MS couldn't have helped with this? I mean surely they have enough money to help them make a physical version.

[autobotdan]

They did. There are physical release on both Playstation 4 and Xbox One because of Microsoft

[AnubisG]

Can I get a link to an article proving that?

[Ceaser9857361]

"They did. There are physical release on both Playstation 4 and Xbox One because of Microsoft"

Some correction there.. NT said it long back when Hellblade was releasing that if the game sales well they would do a physical release. So Mr Obvious you see M$ has nothing to do with this...

[shinoff2183]

Ms has nothing to do with this. Just stop it.

[darthv72]

MS had a hand in the physical release. you see the game sold on the PS4 previously and the added sales on XBO helped the physical release come to fruition. Couple that with MS having purchased NT and not wanting to miss a chance to make a buck... they fronted some of the $$ to get it pressed while 505 did the same with the PS4 version.

you see... it's a win win for NT, MS, 505 and gamers everywhere.

[shammgod]

I’m pretty sure physical was announced long before MS bought them. I think you’re right.

[Darkwatchman]

It wasn’t. Physical was announced after the buyout.

[Darkwatchman]

505 Games publishes the PS4 physical release. Microsoft published the Xbox One physical release. Bam. Problem solved. Next.

[rainslacker]

Likely the contract was in place before MS brought NT. If so, then they'd still have to honor that, and MS isn't likely to breach the contract when it would make them money on the studio.

Although, its possible that NT still independently owns the IP, and can decide to do with it what they will, so decided to have 505 publish it. That wouldn't mean they could make another HB and release it everywhere, so it'd be only on this one title.

Lots of possibilities when it comes to this kind of stuff where studios get acquired, and it doesn't always mean that the purchaser gets full control over everything.

[UltraNova]

Wait, if they are now wholly owned by MS can they independently decide, say in this instance to grand publishing rights to anyone other than MS?

I dont get it, they are MS employees now...

[rainslacker]

I mean that if they decided they wanted to do more with that title, it's possible they may still have autonomy to do so. I'm not sure that's the case, but there are times when current projects can be handled like that. Likely though, in this case, MS now owns the IP, but this contract was likely made before MS acquired them.

[FallenAngel1984]

Does Microsoft own this IP?

[OpenGL]

They own the developers so unless Ninja Theory didn't own it, yes.

[timotim]

Microsoft now does, yes. However, these details were already worked out before Microsoft acquired them. Don't see why they would have an issue with this either...at the end of the day, its hopefully more people that get to play their game, thus adding to the popularity of both the dev studio, which they now own and IP for future releases.

[SirenAries]

They do now. It be on game pass soon

[SirenAries]

Thank you game pass 😁 will play you again in true 4k soon

[Orionsangel]

I can't get into this game. It's mostly colorful holographic floating light puzzles you gotta line up. I got bored. Talk about an over hyped game.

[CaptainOmega]

I don’t know when NT intended on going with MS.. but i feel sorta ‘used’.
They were on the verge of collapse. They wanted ‘creative freedom’ from the ‘AAA machine’: To make games and not worry about monetization. They downsized, created smaller projects and made enough money on them to made Hellblade. They picked the PS4/PC to first release their game on (larger potential market). The game does well.. they make an Xbox version 8 months later.. 2 months after that we see the aquisition.

I’m glad they are still ‘alive’ and funded my MS.. but Hellblade will probably be the last NT game I ever play bc of the aquisition. They could have kept their ‘independence’ while utilizing a multiplatform approach to their games (including gamepass if they wanted to).

[rainslacker]

I think they were just at a point where the money brought in by HellBlade still kept them in a difficult place. Likely a lot of debt to pay off and what not. Maybe they got their affairs in order there, but then were in the same position they were with HellBlade, where they couldn't really do much and needed more security for the future.

being brought out isn't the worst thing in the world, and its really just people being over-worried that MS is going to ruin them. Personally, I never understood why a publisher would buy a studio just to have them do things different than what made their games desireable in the first place, but a lot of publishers do so.

[KickSpinFilter]

Actually no... they had made all their money back with the PS4 release. But as a small independent dev, they were still nervous of their next project not working out and that would have bankrupted them.

[rainslacker]

They made the money back for Hellblade, but the studio itself likely still had other debts to pay. I'm not saying they were broke or anything, but they may not have been in a position to continue on doing things in the future like they did with Hellblade, which you mention in your post.

[conanlifts]

Making games is expensive. My understanding was projects like Hellbalde ensured the company could stay afloat. But a single failure would likely lead to the studio closing. They sold to MS to ensure they would have a future and their staff would know they had job security.

[Ausbo]

I don’t think you understand how hard it is to stay afloat in the games industry making mid tier single player games

[LoveSpuds]

Some might suggest that its equally as hard to stay in business as an Xbox owned studio these days🙄

[KickSpinFilter]

I don’t think you understand how hard it is to stay afloat in the games industry making games is more like it

[timotim]

Not really understanding why you should feel used at all. PS gamers got the game first and now a physical release is on its way which wasn't guaranteed...you can't ask for anything more than that. NT has given PS gamers the complete Hellblade treatment. That shows gratitude. And Hellblade coming to Xbox was done before the acquisition, not after. And while you might not be able to play their games on a PS console anymore in the future, couldn't you always play them on PC if you don't want to get an Xbox console? Microsoft still makes Windows and I'm sure their OS will continue to be an option for all future NT games...

[CaptainOmega]

I dont’ have a gaming PC.

[timotim]

I'm sorry to hear about no gaming PC. Not sure what your feelings are toward Xbox consoles, but maybe just grab something on the cheap in a year or two just so you can play their future titles? I hear Microsoft is releasing a diskless Xbox that might stream all past and future games and even allow for native digital titles for less than $200...by the time NTs next game drops, you might be able to find it on sale for $150...could be an option...

[King_Noctis]

“I’m glad they are still ‘alive’ and funded my MS.. but Hellblade will probably be the last NT game I ever play bc of the aquisition. ”

You just gonna stop playing their game because MS acquire them? Wow...

[CaptainOmega]

Yeah. I'm not buying an Xbox to play them.

[King_Noctis]

Well, their game will also be available on PC. So you don’t own a PC too?

[Wulfer]

Some people need to learn how to say thank you Microsoft for "NOT" canceling the physical version of the game! Wonder if they know how to say that? MS gives them Minecraft (and keeps it updated as much as Sony will allow) and they belly ache. MS allows a physical game that could have easily been cancelled on the PS4 they belly ache. I don't know, sounds like you don't deserve the releases to me.

[CaptainOmega]

What physical game did MS allow that could have easily been cancelled on the PS4?

[Elda]

Why would anyone need to thank MS knowing most folks owning a PS4 that was interested in playing Hellblade own the game already due to the fact it landed on Sony's console first including the fact that the game is almost a year & a half old now. Though Hellblade is a highly reviewed game & I've heard many folks that enjoyed it but imo as of now PS4 owners will not be buying this in droves or many buying it period.

[shiva1]

8 months back it was 65 mil ps4s and dont know how many PCs... Hellblade did not save them from being acquired. So its either a bad game... Or its good game which was not sold well on PS/pc to stop them from being acquired.

In anyway i wish NT all the success and hope they levelled out from this acquisition.

[KickSpinFilter]

@shiva1
Actually no... they had made all their money back with the PS4 release. But as a small independent dev, they were still nervous of their next project not working out and that would have bankrupted them.

[conanlifts]

Punctuation would go a long way with the title.

[boing1]

Learn to use comas.

[Strafe]

Commas boing1, commas.

[boing1]

I stand corrected. Not my native language.

[boing1]

Learn to use commas.

[Ninver]

Basement journalism at it's finest

[iplay1up2]

This game is coming to games pass in mid December. Thank You Microsoft.