Six years ago, Ninja Theory announced the horror game Project: Mara, likely a working title, which was set to be a single-character, single-area adventure. In short, an experimental title, and in 2021, we got another brief glimpse of it, and in 2022, Microsoft registered the trademark.
But since then, it's been quiet, while Ninja Theory released Senua's Saga: Hellblade II in 2024, and yesterday, as we know, Senua was announced. This makes it reasonable to wonder what's actually happening with Project: Mara. Is it even still in development?
Unfortunately, the answer seems to be: nope! Via Xbox Wire, Ninja Theory head Dom Matthews now writes that the game has been cancelled, a decision made to free up resources for Senua:
"I suspect some people might ask what's happened to Project Mara [a previously announced horror title] - I took the decision to not work on that any further. These decisions are never easy, but I did so to take the opportunity to have all of the talent and expertise in the studio, all 85 creatives, working together to realize the potential of what Senua can be."
In the same interview, Matthews describes the game as a more pure third-person action game than the two Hellblade titles, which is part of the reason why the studio has now decided to drop that name:
"This is an out-and-out action-adventure game. It's a bold new step for Senua, as a character, into the action-adventure space. Really, what that means is taking the heart and soul of what Hellblade has meant - in terms of intimate storytelling, high production values and being a journey that's full of intent - but being additive to that in a way that gives players more agency and a lot more gameplay.
"This is really about giving Hellblade fans what they've been asking for, while meeting action-adventure players' expectations - and the way that manifests is in broader gameplay, more combat depth, and an interconnected world."
Senua is set to be released in 2027 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
