Microsoft further proving why day one releases on Game Pass ultimately lead to their financial failure.

The release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was intended to be Microsoft’s biggest XBOX release of 2024. While journalists praised the game, players struggled to connect with its cinematic experience, psychological horror elements, and the unappealing nature of its ugly protagonist.

The game released on May 21st to a lukewarm reception, with many players pointing out its brevity, the game can be completed in a mere five hours. It’s puzzling how a sequel was greenlit, considering the first Hellblade struggled to sell a million copies in its first year.

The original game launched simultaneously on PC and PlayStation 4 in August 2017 and eventually released on XBOX ONE in April 2018, reaching a million units sold a few months later. Ninja Theory, the developers, were acquired by Microsoft in June 2018, with the sequel launching as a Microsoft exclusive.

Despite being a day-one title for XBOX Game Pass subscribers, the game failed to impress players. A recent report indicates that only 13% of Hellblade 2 players managed to endure the five-hour, third-person, over-the-shoulder interactive movie experience, Microsoft’s own take on the Sony staple.

Needless to say, Hellblade 2 turned out to be another flop like its predecessor. The game launched on PC with a peak of just 3,982 concurrent players, which quickly dropped to 2,682 the following day. This suggests that players either completed it within a day or some likely refunded their purchase.

Nearly 90% of players on XBOX consoles haven’t completed the game, which is concerning for a supposed “action”-adventure title. Given that Hellblade 2 can be beaten in under five hours, it’s striking that even with its availability on Game Pass, only a fraction of subscribers have bothered to finish it, with most dropping it instead.

Given Microsoft’s efforts to encourage game developers to stop “objectifying” women by refraining from portraying them in traditionally feminine ways, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II certainly aligns with modern trends of BlackRock’s ESG agenda. The game replaces heteronormative portrayals of women in media with more masculine and androgynous depictions.

The game’s lack of appeal, likely fueled by its unappealing portrayal of its sexually ambiguous protagonist, probably played a significant role in its failure. It didn’t offer much beyond a basic walk-and-talk experience lasting just a few hours.

It’s no surprise then that TrueAchievements reports only a meager 13% completion rate among XBOX players. This figure is based on the “The End of Tyranny” achievement, earned by those who finish the final mission and complete the storyline.

The Steam achievement statistics paint a notably different picture, highlighting a probable gap in mindset between PC and console gamers. On Steam, approximately 37.4% of players have completed Hellblade 2.

In contrast, on XBOX, only about 52% of players have conquered the first boss, earning the “Next Sign” achievement.

This means that roughly half of the Xbox players abandoned the game early on. Given that most likely didn’t pay for it, since it was a day-one release on Game Pass, they are probably relieved they didn’t spend money on it. In comparison, 84.2% of Steam players managed to beat the first boss.

The first boss serves as a tutorial and appears about half an hour into the game, posing little challenge. This disparity highlights how poor the game’s reception must have been on XBOX, especially considering that Hi-Fi Rush, which had no marketing and was simultaneously released on PC and Xbox Game Pass, attracted twice as many players on Steam.

Despite its critical success, Hi-Fi Rush didn’t generate significant profits, leading to its developers being shut down by Microsoft.

Given how Xbox Game Pass operates in terms of revenue sharing, Hellblade 2 has been a complete failure. Nearly a month after its release, hardly anyone is playing it on Steam, and the situation appears similar on consoles. Releasing a game on Microsoft’s Game Pass can hinder direct sales, as we already know.

These games need to maintain a high play rate over extended periods to generate sufficient revenue. However, with half of all console players not even staying engaged long enough to beat the first boss, this likely resulted in tens of millions of dollars in losses for both Microsoft and Ninja Theory.

The outlook for Ninja Theory is bleak, as this failure could lead to their imminent closure by Microsoft in the coming months. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this happened, considering how the game’s repulsively ugly protagonist effectively acted as a gatekeeper, ensuring Microsoft wouldn’t see any money from me.