Last week, IO Interactive announced that it was forced to cut some of its staff after Xbox abandoned funding for the Project Fantasy IP, first revealed over three years ago. Today, the developer has confirmed that it regained complete control of the intellectual property and the project, which it still wants to fund out of its own pockets. However, the downside is that the Istanbul studio, which opened in March 2023, will have to shutter. Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP. We will continue to develop and […]

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Under the guise of the great Xbox reset, Asha Sharma's big scissors have cut heavily among the internal studios. While none of the studios that were in danger of being closed will actually be shut down, which is indeed amazing news, some of the most successful teams remaining inside Xbox and Bethesda have been severely affected by layoffs, according to reports. Obsidian Entertainment, for instance. The Californian studio has been one of the most productive since it joined Xbox in 2018, releasing The Outer Worlds 1 & 2, Grounded 1 & 2, Pentiment, and Avowed. Granted, none have been runaway […]

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The layoff hammer has finally fallen at Xbox, with CEO Asha Sharma herself announcing that the division will lose 3,200 employees through job cuts and four studio divestitures (plus a wildcard). The wildcard is Arkane Lyon, which the executive says has already begun the obligatory consultation with its Works Council to" review potential strategic options". This suggests every option is still on the table for the studio that made Dishonored and Deathloop: closure, going independent, or finding a buyer. The known quantities are Compulsion Games (Contrast, We Happy Few, South of Midnight) and Double Fine Productions (Psychonauts, Brutal Legend, Broken […]

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