Ninja Theory isn’t pulling Bleeding Edge offline, but it’s moving on

The studio wants to focus on its next three games

If you had told me Bleeding Edge would still be around in January 2021, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to picture it. Ninja Theory isn’t delisting Bleeding Edge yet – a move that seems plausible given its failure to resonate with a big-enough audience – but the team is done releasing content updates for the game.

The only-a-matter-of-time news was shared today on Twitter.

With the studio now focusing on our new projects (Senua’s Saga, Project Mara & The Insight Project) we have decided that there will be no further content updates for Bleeding Edge. The game is still playable on Xbox and PC. Thank you to the fans & keep teaming up & causing chaos!

— Bleeding Edge (@BleedingEdgeNT) January 28, 2021

Bleeding Edge has redeeming qualities – it’s clear the developers genuinely tried – but better games have failed to make a splash in the tricky modern-day multiplayer space, and it doesn’t make sense to fight this uphill battle. Not every game can turn it around post-launch, and not every game should.

I’m glad Ninja Theory is in a position to take the hit on Bleeding Edge and move on undeterred with a mix of familiar (Hellblade II) and new (Project Mara). I’d hate to lose this studio to a botched PvP game.

I was just thinking about Bleeding Edge yesterday afternoon in light of the PS5’s Destruction AllStars. Not that these games are comparable one-to-one exactly, but there are broad-strokes similarities and I’m curious to see if the latter can establish a healthy foothold with PlayStation Plus backing it up.

I’ll always have Kulev, my curse-slinging deceased professor controlled by a cybernetic snake.