Ahead of the imminent Xbox Developer Direct, two separate reports claim that the Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 release date is set for Tuesday, May 21, 2024. Should this materialize, we won’t have much longer to wait before Senua is back on our Xbox consoles.
Initially reported by sources close to eXputer’s ‘eXtas1s’, the highly-anticipated addition to the list of Xbox exclusives will finally arrive after a seven-year wait. This has been further corroborated by industry insider ‘colteastwood’ on the most recent edition of the XNC Podcast, though he couldn’t recall his source. The leak has appeared roughly 48 hours before the Xbox’s Developer Direct, which is a worryingly common occurrence as major showcases approach. The likelihood is that this date will be officially confirmed during the Developer Direct.
Hellblade 2’s purported arrival on a Tuesday potentially indicates that it may be getting the Starfield treatment when it comes to early access. The biggest Xbox release of 2023, Bethesda’s sci-fi epic granted those who had pre-ordered its Premium or Constellation editions early entry – five days ahead of its full launch as a day-one Xbox Game Pass title. Considering Hellblade 2 is also set to arrive on the service day one, it wouldn’t surprise us to see a similar tactic deployed to bolster sales on full-price copies of the game.
The last we heard from developer Ninja Theory on the Hellblade 2 release date was back at The Game Awards last month. During the breathtaking trailer that aired during the show, a 2024 release window was revealed. According to the trailer description, you’ll want to grab one of the best Xbox headsets for the best experience – we’d also recommend this as, like the original game, Hellblade 2 is shaping up to be a sensory experience.
Originally revealed at 2019’s The Game Awards, Hellblade 2 has become one of 2024’s big-ticket games. Back in 2022, studio director Tameem Antoniades said that the next chapter in Senua’s Saga will make its predecessor “look like an indie game.” From what we’ve seen from trailers so far, it certainly looks the part.
Hellblade 2’s also rumoredly gone over well with mock reviewers, according to insider ‘Nate the Hate.’ Speaking on a recent episode of Spawncast he says that, last year, “the internal [predicted] Metacritic score that Microsoft has for the game was in the 90s.” For reference, the first Hellblade is currently sitting at a very respectable 81 on the platform.
Needless to say, it’s not hyperbole to hype up Hellblade 2 as a potential Game of the Year contender. However, we know that all too often critic and player sentiment can vary – sometimes wildly. As such, we’re just going to have to wait for Ninja Theory to hopefully drop more deets at the Xbox Direct before casting our stones. While you wait for Xbox’s show to begin, be sure to check out our Xbox Developer Direct curveball predictions – there’s some real spice in there.