Bleeding Edge content updates end as Ninja Theory shifts focus to other projects
Ninja Theory’s online brawler Bleeding Edge may be nearing the end of its life. Less than a year after the melee brawler’s launch on PC and Xbox One, the developer announced that they will no longer be releasing content updates.
Bleeding Edge was revealed at E3 2019 as Ninja Theory’s first Microsoft exclusive. During its reveal, we suspected it had a very generic vibe to the game and sure enough, it proved to be a “mixed bag” of team-based multiplayer action.
While we were fans of the art style and its diverse cast of unique characters, the game simply felt unfinished. There were only 11 characters to choose from at launch and the solo queue experience was pretty awful. The last major update came in July and introduced a new fighter, Azrael, along with a new map and leaderboards. Ranked play was still missing, however.
In the end, Bleeding Edge never found its footing and as a result, failed to establish a dedicated audience. Although Bleeding Edge remains playable, it’s not like it has much of a player base to begin with. As Polygon points out:
"SteamCharts counted the game’s PC playership at an average of 480 in its launch month of March 2020, and it’s dwindled ever since."
The write has been on the wall for quite some time now and it appears Bleeding Edge is simply on borrowed time. With no new content coming out anymore, I can’t imagine the current fans will stick around for much longer.
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Ninja Theory has since shifted its focus to other new projects, including Senua’s Saga, Project Mara and The Insight Project. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II is the next entry in the Hellblade franchise and one of the most anticipated games for the Xbox Series X.
Project Mara is an “experimental title that explores new ways of storytelling.” Despite knowing very little about the game — except that it will be a real-world and grounded representation of mental terror based on real experiences and research.
The Insight Project is more of a research and development project at Ninja Theory with the goal of helping treat mental health suffering.
While I’m sure there are like 12 players who are sad to see support on Bleeding Edge end, I think some of the other projects going on at Ninja Theory hold a bit more wait.