Award-winning game studio welcomes new ‘Senua Scholar’
Ninja Theory, the Cambridge-based BAFTA award-winning video game developer and part of Xbox Game Studios, has welcomed its newest Peer Support Worker on to its Senua Scholarship programme.
Alex King is the fourth Peer Support Worker to join the programme, which is run by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust’s (CPFT) RCE Wellbeing Hub and Head to Toe Charity .
The scholarship was introduced after Ninja Theory worked with CPFT to create the best-selling Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. The protagonist , Senua, has psychosis, and the Trust’s staff and those with lived experience of the condition offered expert advice to the creative team during development of the title.
Alex said: “Being a part of the Senua Scholarship has been fantastic. Getting to learn and understand what it means to be a peer worker means a lot to me and I’m really grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity. Everybody has been incredibly supportive throughout and, despite being only a couple months in, I have learnt so much already. I’m looking forward to what the next few months have in store.”
Dom Matthews, studio head of Ninja Theory, said: “We're incredibly proud of the evolution of Senua's Scholarship and our long-standing partnership with CPFT, and we continue to be inspired by the Peer Support Programme run by our friends at the RCE Wellbeing Hub. It was a real pleasure to meet Alex just before Christmas, and I am excited to see his progression and success throughout his journey with the support of CPFT.
Emma Taylor, RCE Wellbeing Hub Manager, said “We’re delighted to continue the Senua Scholarship legacy with Alex, providing a formal Peer Support Worker training opportunity, that will focus on using his own experiences to be a powerful support and advocate for those with ongoing health challenges. I can’t wait to see what this journey holds for Alex over the next 12 months and beyond’.
Hannah Wysocki, Head of Head to Toe Charity, said that Alex joins an incredible programme, thanks to the amazing support it has had from Ninja Theory. “This is a unique paid opportunity for someone who wants to use their lived experience to help others with health challenges and is an incredible legacy that our previous Scholars, the RCE Wellbeing Hub and Ninja Theory have built together,” she added.
Pictured: Alex’s scholarship was recently celebrated with the Ninja Theory Team at their headquarters in Cambridge (Alex, second from right is pictured with Jade O’Kane and Natalie Bainbridge from Ninja Theory and Kathy Jones from CPFT’s RCE Wellbeing Hub).
