Ninja Theory to support mental health charity with Xbox sales

Developers behind Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice are hoping the game's Xbox One port will do well. If it does, they promise to donate $25,000 to charity, and if the sales numbers reach 100,000 units, the money donation will rise to $50,000.

Ninja Theory's port of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice for Xbox One released on 11 April 2018. The developer has promised to donate money to the US charity Mental Health America if the game sells well. Considering the game's main theme of mental illnesses, the team has decided to give to charity if or when the game reaches two thresholds. 

If the game reaches 50,000 units sold in the first week, the team will donate $25,000 to the charity organisation. Furthermore, if the sales reach 100,000 units within the first week the amount donated will be doubled.

Ninja Theory Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - Hopefully Xbox One's version will be successful

The Playstation 4 version released last year and reached the aforementioned numbers rather quickly, racking in 500,000 units in only three months. That's only the PlayStation 4 version. There is also the matter of the PC port being released at the same time last year, but sales numbers on PC are as yet unknown because of many sites selling keys to the digital version.

After the game broke even within three months, in comparison to the six to nine months the developers expected, they decided to donate all the profit the game made in that year. This decision was made in order to celebrate World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2017. 

Ninja Theory Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - The titular character Senua

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is the living and breathing proof that indie titles do not have to be crippled in quality when compared to AAA games. Ninja Theory has single-handedly broken the stereotype of indie games being closed off into the mostly pixelated graphics areas and shallow gameplay options, despite their usually rich stories.

The title has won awards for best motion capture acting and outstanding achievement in character development as well as audio design. Players are not forced into playing the game with headphones, but are highly encouraged to do so since the game's charm lies in the sound.