The multi-award winning studio, Compulsion Games, isn't safe from the mass layoffs that were coming to Microsoft's XBOX division. Compulsion Games, the studio that developed 2025's South of Midnight and previous titles of We Happy Few and Contrast, is on the verge of being shuttered.
According to a report from Kotaku, Compulsion Games is currently "in 'negotiations' with Microsoft." These negotiations are to determine the ultimate fate of Compulsion Games.
LinkedIn says Compulsion Games employs about 90 employees. Kotaku suggests that total number of employees is actually much higher. Several of these employees have already taken to social media in search of new job opportunities.
Compulsion Games won several industry awards for South of Midnight, including a Peabody award, two wins at the DICE Awards, and a BAFTA win for best new intellectual property. XBOX CEO Asha Sharm and Microsoft Game Studios lead Matt Booty both praised Compulsion Games quite recently.
Sharma said the following about Compulsion Games:
The big things that we’re thinking about are we want to make great games. And so, you know, [chief content officer Matt Booty] can talk about that. The Peabody Award for South of Midnight, Kiln coming out today. Like, I just feel like every day there’s something wonderful there.
South of Midnight today won a Peabody Award, which I think is such a validation of the storytelling capability of games these days. And that’s right on the heels of them winning a BAFTA for new IP a couple Fridays ago. And, that is our goal, right? I mean, we run a portfolio and our portfolio includes some of the biggest franchises on the planet—Call of Duty and Minecraft—but we’re also dedicated to places where new [intellectual property] can come to life and where these stories can be told, you know, in our studios like Compulsion and Double Fine that got some nominations for Keeper.
