Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga lack of marketing feels concerning

Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is arguably the biggest game Xbox has due for release this year, granted they don't plan to shadow drop anything, akin to Tango Gameworks' Hi-Fi Rush. However, looks like not even Xbox is interested in marketing the game, despite Hellblade 2 being just a couple of weeks away from its official release date.

Lack of marketing is common for games, especially for indie and AA projects. However, for a AAA game and flagship title from Xbox, Hellblade Senua's Saga not getting any form of marketing push this close to its official scheduled release is certainly not normal.

Xbox is known to market its first-party titles quite extensively; just take a look at the marketing campaign for Starfield and even Redfall. However, the lack of marketing for Ninja Theory's upcoming title, Helldblade 2 Senua's Saga, is certainly concerning, to say the least.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the author's opinions.

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Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga barely has any trailers or promotional material out, even days before its official release

Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga, by all accounts, is a major launch for Xbox, especially in a year where there aren't any big PlayStation releases. Yes, there was Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Stellar Blade that came out exclusively for the PS5, but those games aren't coming from PlayStation's in-house studios, and aren't technically similar to flagships like Marvel's Spider-Man or God of War.

While the game was hyped up by both Xbox and developer Ninja Theory back during last year's Xbox Showcase, it has barely received any marketing since then. Its only promotional content was previews from a select few publications, which is genuinely concerning.

To be fair, a game's marketing has nothing to do with its quality. There have been instances of games not getting any major trailers until weeks before its official release. For instance, look at Elden Ring and God of War Ragnarok, titles that barely received any trailers until close to their scheduled release.

However, Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is scheduled to release this very month, and yet, doesn't have anything to even inform players of its existence. It's one thing if Xbox was planning to shadow-drop the game without any prior announcement, but Hellblade 2 was announced back in 2019, so it's not like the game's a secret project.

The dearth of marketing for Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is also a bit concerning for Ninja Theory since it in hindsight shows the lack of confidence Xbox has in this title. And given how Microsoft and Xbox have recently shut down studios that have either underperformed in terms of sales or player engagement, Ninja Theory might be the next to get hit by the same.

On a more positive note, it's very much possible that Xbox and Ninja Theory don't want to release too many trailers for the game to avoid spoiling the story. Given that Hellblade 2 is a linear, narrative-driven title, it's very much possible that new trailers for it might end up spoiling bits and pieces of the story.

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Hellblade 2 Senua's Saga is scheduled to be released on May 21, 2024, for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass.