Ninja Theory has released its financial results for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. While the report covers the period before the launch of Hellblade II, it is still a rare glimpse into the UK developer’s business performance.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Although Ninja Theory is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, it still operates as a private company under UK jurisdiction. That’s why it has to report its financials to the country’s Companies House.
On August 18, the studio filed its report and financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023 (thanks, Timur222). Below are the key takeaways.
- Ninja Theory’s revenue reached £23.99 million ($31.2 million) in FY22/23, up 15.8% year-over-year.
- Revenue from self-published games (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and Bleeding Edge) fell 37.3% year-over-year to £907k ($1.17 million).
- Most of the annual turnover, £22.82 million ($29.68 million), was intercompany recharge income. The studio recognizes it as “the agreements between Ninja Theory and its parent company,” Microsoft. This is also why 96.5% of its total revenue came from the US.
- Operating expenses increased 20% year-over-year to £21.5 million ($28 million). This item is managed by a central team within Microsoft, which allocates the budget on an annual basis.
- Specifically, Ninja Theory spent over £11 million ($14.3 million) on research and development in FY22/23, up 24% year-over-year.
- Staff costs amounted to £10.6 million ($13.8 million), up 5.7% compared to FY21/22. As of June 30, 2023, Ninja Theory employed 106 people.
- Profit after taxes was £2.97 million ($3.86 million), compared to a loss of £401.5k ($522k) in the previous year.
- As of June 30, 2023, Ninja Theory had £100.4 million ($130 million) in net assets on its balance sheet.
We will probably have to wait for the next August to see Ninja Theory’s filing for FY23/24 (ended June 30, 2024). This report will cover the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, which came out globally on May 21, 2024.
In its FY22/23 report, the studio only noted that “following the successful release of Hellblade 2, Ninja Theory will now concentrate their efforts on various future projects.”
These “future projects” include an experimental story-driven game codenamed MARA. It was first teased in 2020 and there aren’t many details about it yet, other than it will focus on mental health issues.