Just announced this morning at Mashable, Valiant is stepping outside of its superhero universe for the first time since the publisher's 2012 relaunch and teaming with renowned game developer Ninja Theory for a new pre-order bonus comic exploring the world of the highly anticipated new game, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

Available only as pre-order bonus to customers who pre-order Hellblade beginning today, the jointly produced Valiant/Ninja Theory digital comics short – entitled Hellblade: Senua's Song #1 – is "told in the form of a lavishly illustrated epic poem" written by Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades with art by Ben Templesmith.

Widely known as the innovative studio behind Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry, Ninja Theory's latest, long-in-the-making adventure game is "the story of Senua, a traumatized Celtic warrior journeying into the Viking underworld of Hel. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice will pull players deep into Senua's mind."

According to today's announcement, Valiant's Hellblade digital comic will be "available exclusively as a pre-order bonus for all orders of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice placed on Steam and GOG.com before the game's August 8th, 2017 release on PlayStation 4 and PC."

Valiant CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani also teased more in-depth collaboration between the two companies in the near future, saying:

"Ninja Theory and Valiant have been working behind the scenes for some time now, and we've had the chance to see the development process behind Hellblade up close… We're all fans and admirers of Ninja Theory here, and they share a creative POV with Valiant that is grounded in strong storytelling and deep characterization. We couldn't be happier to contribute to Hellblade's enthralling mythology in some small way, and we look forward to future collaborations."

Antoniades echoed that sentiment, calling Ninja Theory and Valiant "two creative organizations with very similar outlooks. We share a dedication to quality, creativity and giving our fans what they want."

Could a big-budget Bloodshot game be coming our way, just in time for the upcoming film to hit cinemas? Or something in keeping with Hellblade's warrior themes with a character like X-O Manowar or Eternal Warrior? Or maybe even a return to Shadowman's gaming roots? Watch this space…and check out the latest Hellblade trailer here: