Compulsion Games
Video game industry companyWikipedia
16
MENTIONS
11
EPISODES
11
PODCASTS
Search complete. 16 mentions across 11 episodes found for "Compulsion Games".
Oct 25, 2026
GeorgeHOST
We are collateral victims of Xbox's change in strategy, one of the people said.
GeorgeHOST
As alluded to above, Microsoft has already shuttered UK studio Ninja Theory and offloaded various other teams like Compulsion Games et al.
GeorgeHOST
It's also in the process of reorganising its first-party operations, similarly sunsetting Xbox Game Studios, as it places its remaining teams under the umbrella of Bethesda and Activision.
GeorgeHOST
Its objective is to focus on big franchises like...
Analytic DreamzHOST
Anyways, the studios, even Xbox, It's a lot, it's an extensive list.
Analytic DreamzHOST
So Microsoft, As far as the internal Xbox structure or restructuring, Double Fine and Compulsion Games returned to their previous management in August with their intellectual property and back catalogs and funding slash runway, right? Undead Labs has completed a similar transition and is now independent, employee-owned studio, and has a new publisher for State of Decay 3, which remains targeted for 2027 and will launch day one on the Game Pass.
Analytic DreamzHOST
And then of course you have Ninja Theory as when you look at them having possible closure, unfortunate, but when it comes to the objective side of it, the future of Ninja Theory developer of Hellblade remains uncertain.
Analytic DreamzHOST
There's no confirmation of if it's gonna keep existing or if it's gonna get completely kaput as far as a cut from a funder, right? which the funder is Microsoft.
NickHOST
We talk about, like, what's happening here.
NickHOST
Of course, with Xbox, Double Fine, Compulsion Games went independent.
NickHOST
Halo handed to Activision, AKA 343 Studios.
NickHOST
Halo Studios, AKA 343, uh, has now been made into, like, a support team, so they're, they're a support dev unit.
John IngoldHOST
Mm
Alex EpsteinGUEST
... who set me up with Compulsion Games around 2011.
Alex EpsteinGUEST
I wrote Contrast for them, um, then, uh, put together We Happy Few and its two DLCs, um, and then we did South of Midnight, um, which has won a Peabody.
Alex EpsteinGUEST
Um, and since then I worked on, uh, FragPunk, a, an online shooter, um, that failed to unseat Valorant as the big online shooter, and I've been, uh, making independent video games.
EricHOST
She basically let them go.
EricHOST
So Compulsion Games is now independent.
EricHOST
A few other studios are independent.
EricHOST
And pretty much every game studio under the Xbox umbrella had a lot of people laid off.
Craig ShumanHOST
Not that kind, Kojima.
Craig ShumanHOST
South of Midnight is our game of the month, and, uh, it's from the recently exiled Compulsion Games, formerly of Xbox Game Studios, and now back to independence.
Craig ShumanHOST
As we get started this evening, we're going to do our micro monologues.
Craig ShumanHOST
So Nate, lead us off.
Craig ShumanHOST
[laughs] Um, all right.
Craig ShumanHOST
So before we get into it, um, a little bit of background on the developer.
Craig ShumanHOST
Have either of you guys played any of the games from Compulsion Games previously?
Nate StevensHOST
I'm glad you asked that.
Destin LegarieHOST
I don't know what their contract looked like, but there is a possibility that that could be what happened to that location.
Destin LegarieHOST
Same thing with Compulsion Games.
Destin LegarieHOST
Compulsion Games was able to go independent or buy their independence or whatever ended up happening contractually there.
Destin LegarieHOST
And they get to keep their IP.
Destin LegarieHOST
They get to go continue to make games.
Destin LegarieHOST
And I think that is the best case for Compulsion Games.
Destin LegarieHOST
You know, they had South of Midnight.
Destin LegarieHOST
It was an award winner.
Brad ShankarGUEST
That deal never made sense to me, um, like, just, uh, for so many reasons.
Brad ShankarGUEST
Like, even they d- they weren't doing a good job of managing the studios they already owned 'cause they started this, like, acquisition spree in, like, 2018 with, like, Obsidian, Compulsion Games, uh, some of these, like, s- quote-unquote, "smaller teams." Uh, but they never really did much with them to begin with.
Brad ShankarGUEST
And then they bought Bethesda, uh, and all their studios, and then they bought Activision Blizzard, and that was my whole thing when that was going up, uh, on, it's like you haven't managed the studios you already own.
Brad ShankarGUEST
You haven't proven that.
TrevHOST
Um, Hellblade, British Hellblade studio Ninja Theory looks to be closed after sale, a proposed sale fell through.
TrevHOST
And then you've got other companies, studios like Double Fine, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs having left Microsoft's ownership completely.
TrevHOST
Uh, and Marvel's Blade and Dishonored studio Arkane remains up for sale.
TrevHOST
So if you get a few quid there, a few dollars, then go in for it.
AriHOST
Like, you know, so they had this kind of news about all the Xbox layoffs and there's no point in kind of reviewing all of it.
AriHOST
But, you know, the classic ones are closing the Ark in Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, laying off people from Activision and Bethesda, laying off people from Compulsion Games and etc., They have canceled studios, canceled projects, canceled so many things in name of streamlining to make Xbox a lot more of a condensed operation that is making money and et cetera, which is crazy after 20 years of existence or so that they're finally about to make money, right? So all this stuff about like, you know, restructuring, layout studio, project cancellation, and like, you know, all the things that have been happening.
AriHOST
So what does like, you know, people at the head of the game and this company, Microsoft and Xbox, what they think of it? Like for them, this is like turning what they're really believing in the structuring as a very, like, you know, like a streamline.
AriHOST
It's a good to see.
1 more episode mentions Compulsion Games.
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