With all the rumors surrounding secret fourth title to be revealed during the Xbox Developer_Direct, some (like me) assumed that we would see Ninja Theory’s Project: Mara. After all, it matches the description of “smaller, scale original game” from first-party studio that VGC recently reported on. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case, as Windows Central’s Jez Corden alleges that Project: Mara is not in the works.
During the Xbox Two Podcast with Rand al Thor 19, Corden alleges that the title, announced in 2020, was “just a concept; it’s not a game they are currently working on. It might be something they work on eventually, but Project: Mara is not a game that is currently being worked on at Ninja Theory.”
What is on the cards? Hellblade 3, apparently, and it’s reportedly going to be “a bit more interactive than Hellblade 1 and 2. They want to make it more of a game, and broaden its appeal,” said Corden. This may very well be the studio’s next project that was allegedly greenlit in May 2024 following the release of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2.
Project: Mara was described as an “experimental” horror title that “explores new ways of storytelling.” Featuring Melina Juergens, who plays Senua in the Hellblade series, it would have offered a “real-world and grounded representation of mental terror.”
While there’s no official confirmation on Project: Mara’s status, Ninja Theory hasn’t exactly inundated the world with details since its reveal. The last major update was in January 2021, when a developer diary confirmed that the story would unfold in single apartment.
The speculation around that secret fourth game thus continues, but fortunately, we won’t have to wait too long to find out. The Xbox Developer_Direct ’26 airs on January 22nd at 10 AM PST, and features the likes of Fable, Forza Horizon 6 and Beast of Reincarnation.