Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 releases for Xbox Series X/S and PC on May 21. However, while it continues the first game’s story, it’s not quite the same creative team. A recent report revealed that Ninja Theory Founder and Senua’s Sacrifice Director, Tameem Antoniades, left the company at some point during the new game’s development.
Hellblade 1 director left during sequel’s development
With Hellblade 2 releasing next month, Ninja Theory has invited certain publications to preview the game. This includes Polygon, whose reporter recently visited the studio in Cambridge, U.K. However, he could not help but notice Antoniades’ absence from a project he was widely believed to be helming. An Xbox representative later told Polygon that Antoniades was no longer with the company.
It’s tempting to assume that Antoniades’ departure was in some way related to Microsoft’s acquisition of Ninja Theory in 2018. However, that is not necessarily the case. It is unclear exactly why and when Antoniades stepped down, but he was still involved when Hellblade 2 started development. According to Polygon, Art Director Dan Attwell, Audio Director David Garcia, and VFX Director Mark Slater-Tunstill are now helming the project.
In addition to Senua’s Sacrifice, Antoniades’ past work includes Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry. However, based on the previews, his departure doesn’t seem to have hurt the new game too much.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 sees the Celtic warrior woman Senua travel to early medieval Iceland to stop the Vikings who destroyed her village. Combat has been overhauled from the first game, and gameplay has been described as slow-paced but focused and highly atmospheric.
