Former Xbox Studio Compulsion Games Signals Willingness to Collaborate

Montreal-based developer Compulsion Games, which avoided closure during Xbox Game Studios' recent mass layoffs by negotiating its independence, has taken to LinkedIn to announce that it is open for business—and seemingly open to working as a support studio or co-developer on other teams' projects.

"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, earning an 8 out of 10 (Great) from IGN and a "Generally Favorable" rating on review-aggregate site Metacritic. Xbox acquired the studio in 2018 after it had developed We Happy Few and, prior to that, Contrast.

Xbox's separation from Compulsion (along with Double Fine, Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Arkane) comes as the first-party publisher focuses on its biggest franchises—a strategy I have an idea about regarding how it might play out.