Montreal-based developer Compulsion Games, who avoided closure amidst the mass layoffs by Xbox Game Studios this month by negotiating its independence, has taken to LinkedIn to let other developers and publishers know that they are open for business – and seemingly open to working as a support studio and/or co-developer on another team’s project.
“With Compulsion Games returning to its roots as an independent developer, we are expanding opportunities to collaborate with studios across the games and entertainment industry,” the studio’s LinkedIn post reads. “We invite partners to leverage the talent and creativity of the award-winning team behind South of Midnight…We are excited to support the development of memorable experiences that engage and entertain players around the world.” The full statement is below:
Compulsion released 2025’s South of Midnight to critical acclaim, receiving an 8 out of 10 (Great) from IGN and a “Generally Favorable” rating on the review-aggregate website Metacritic. Xbox acquired the studio in 2018 after it had developed We Happy Few and Contrast prior to that.
Xbox’s parting of ways with Compulsion (and Double Fine, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Arkane) comes as the first-party publisher looks to focus its efforts on its biggest franchises – a strategy I’ve got an idea for regarding how it might play out.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our semi-retired interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.