Microsoft is spinning off four Xbox game studios as part of a restructuring. But two of them — Double Fine and Compulsion — are getting to walk away with their games.
According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will transition to independent studios and keep their IP, catalog, and runway for their next projects. The other two studios being spun off, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, are heading to new ownership with funding to finish their upcoming titles — Senua and State of Decay 3 respectively.
Compulsion Games, the studio behind Contrast, We Happy Few, and the award-winning South of Midnight, posted a heartfelt statement about returning to independent roots. “When we were founded in 2009, we were just a few dreamers in a leaky old gramophone factory,” they wrote. They’re keeping all their IP and are grateful for their time with Xbox.
Double Fine — the studio behind Psychonauts, Keeper, and Kiln — had a shorter message: “Once again, Double Fine Productions will be an independent studio.” They thanked Xbox for seven years together and said they’re preserving their history and culture with ownership of their games returned.
The news comes as part of a broader Xbox restructuring that also affects Arkane Studios, where management is consulting with its Works Council on “potential strategic options.”
For fans of these studios, it’s a bittersweet outcome. Losing Xbox backing means less financial security. But getting full control of your games and your future? That’s what indie studios are all about.
