Namco Bandai To Publish New Game From Ninja Theory

Namco Bandai said Wednesday that it signed a deal to publish an unannounced game from Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Cambridge, England-based Ninja Theory is best known for its PlayStation 3 action game Heavenly Sword, which drew a lot of attention early on in the PS3's lifecycle with some stunning visuals. Now, the studio is teaming up with Namco Bandai, which will publish Ninja Theory's upcoming, unannounced cross-platform game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The companies have yet to release specifics on the title, other than it is based on a new intellectual property. "With producers from our North American office working closely with such a strong European development studio, we will be able to create a blockbuster title with strong pan-Western sensibilities and appeal for a global gaming audience," said Makoto Iwai, executive VP and COO of Namco Bandai Games America. Nina Kristensen, Ninja Theory co-founder and "chief development ninja" added, "This new project pushes our core strengths of rich story-telling, cutting-edge technology and exciting gameplay beyond anything we have created before." Namco Bandai is headquartered in Japan, and is making a concerted effort to globalize its business by offering Western-flavored titles. In December 2008, the publisher introduced its Western-centric Surge publishing sub-label. And in June this year, Namco Bandai PR director Todd Thorson said, "We truly [want to] globalize the development of Western-focused games."