In a reveal made by PC Gamer, Ninja Theory’s Hellblade will now be released on PC alongside its initially announced PS4 platform. Ninja Theory’s previous title DmC: Devil May Cry was published by Capcom, however Hellblade is the studio’s first title fully developed and published in house using a brand new IP.
Tameem Antoniades, Ninja Theory’s creative Chief, explains that developing the game for PC offers the studio a level of freedom they have yet to experience.
We’re looking at everything we do on this project and figuring out better ways of doing things compared to how the traditional AAA console model works. And consoles are following suit with PC, but I think they’re years behind what things like Steam are doing. If we want to do an open beta right now, it’s a little bit trickier to do that than on PC. Playtesting is a huge thing for us. Usability testing, getting people hands-on to try things out, get feedback, then roll that back in and improve the game… it’s always been essential for us to do that. Not every publisher has let us, because of the secrecy that goes into consoles and publisher-based businesses. As an independent we have the freedom to do that.
With the game’s release on PC, the possibility arises for the modding community to bring their own flare to the title, which Antoniades appears to fully endorse following the studio’s organic and open development process on Hellblade.
I think we want to get to the point where we can invite players and fans to add to the game, and do things that are unexpected, and suggest ideas or add-ons that can make the game richer.
Hellblade is one of the most highly anticipated games of 2015 and was regarded as The Noobist’s Highlight of EGX 2014 in with Ninja Theory’s excellent developer session.
You can follow the development process of Hellblade here.