Hellblade 1's Director Is No Longer Part Of Ninja Theory, Confirms Xbox

We've been getting a bunch of Hellblade-related news today as part of the first Xbox hands-on previews for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, and buried within there is the news that one of Ninja Theory's co-founders has left the company.

Tameem Antoniades, who also directed the first Hellblade back in 2017, was surprisingly absent at the recent hands-on event, which led to a confirmation from Xbox that he had departed the studio. No specific reason was given, however.

"On my visit, there was no sign or mention of Ninja Theory’s flamboyant founder and Hellblade writer-director Tameem Antoniades. An Xbox spokesperson later confirmed to Polygon that he is no longer with the studio."

Antoniades was said to have been involved with Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 in its early stages, but now the game has three creative leads in the form of environment art director Dan Attwell, visual effects director Mark Slater-Tunstill and audio director David Garcia.

In addition to directing the first Hellblade, Tameem Antoniades also played in big role in various other Ninja Theory titles, such as directing DmC: Devil May Cry and being part of the writing team for Xbox 360 gem Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Along with Nina Kristensen and Mike Ball, he founded Ninja Theory back in March 2000, with the company known back then as "Just Add Monsters" until it rebranded in 2004.