Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice developer Ninja Theory has pledged to donate as much as $50,000 to the organization Mental Health America, provided that the game sells at least 100,000 copies in its first week on Xbox One.
It’s always nice to see developers donate game proceeds to a good cause, and Ninja Theory’s choice to pledge money to Mental Health America is especially appropriate since mental illness is a very prevalent element of Hellblade itself.
Ninja Theory says that it will donate $25,000 to Mental Health America if the Xbox One release of Hellblade sees at least 50,000 units sold in its first week out on the platform. That number doubles to $50,000 if the game crosses 100,000 during that same span of time.
For reference, the game sold 250,000 copies on PlayStation 4 and PC combined when it first released last August and about 500,000 copies in its first three months, roughly split evenly between PC and PlayStation 4 sales. Originally, the small development team had expected to hit that 500,000 milestone in six months, not three.
This isn’t the first time Ninja Theory has used the game’s success to benefit mental health charities. Last October the developer pledged to donate all proceeds from sales of Hellblade made on World Mental Health Day to the UK-based organization Rethink. That effort alone raised roughly $80,000 for the charity.