A trailer for Hellblade developer Ninja Theory’s unannounced new 4v4 “combat action” game, Bleeding Edge, has leaked online.
The minute-long off-screen video (spotted by Nibel) mostly serves as an introduction to Bleeding Edge’s colourful cast of characters. There’s a metal-loving KISS knock-off called Nidhoggr, a candy coloured female soldier with a love of gadgets called Gizmo, a moustachioed cowboy called El Bastardo, a top-hatted skeleton called Kulev, plus other motley sorts named Daemon, Makuta, Buttercup, Miko, Maeve, and Zero Cool.
However, in among the intros are snatches of Bleeding Edge’s chaotic gameplay, pitting players against each other in 4v4 online matches (according to the captions that helpfully flash-up throughout) of frantic melee-focussed combat. And it doesn’t look like it’ll be long before players get to experience the game for themselves, given that the trailer ends with the announcement of a technical alpha beginning on 27th June.
There’s no indication of platforms for Bleeding Edge in the video; however, given that last year’s E3 saw Microsoft announcing the acquisition of Ninja Theory as a new first-party studio, it’s a reasonable bet that it’ll be heading to Xbox One and PC. As such, Microsoft’s E3 press conference, this Sunday, 9th June, at 9pm would seem like the best place to go for more details.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Bleeding Edge. A trademark registration buried away on Ninja Theory’s site was spotted in 2018, and the newly leaked trailer somewhat aligns with rumours that began on 4chan earlier this year. That rumour, detailed over on Resetera, claimed the game – said to have been in development for six years – was a four-player “sci-fi game with an emphasis on melee combat”.
The rest of the rumour, however, pitched something closer to a co-operative PvE game, featuring 18 levels spread across six locations, each with around 90-minutes of playtime and a boss fight. Could this be a second component of Bleeding Edge, set to exist alongside the competitive multiplayer revealed in the trailer? Presumably we’ll learn more on Sunday.