Since news broke about the impending closure of Compulsion Games, we have learned that two other XBOX studios are in "negotiations" with Microsoft that will determine their fate. Those studios are Ninja Theory and Double Fine Productions.
A report from The Verge says that employees at Ninja Theory were told about the closure during a team call on Monday. Nothing seems to be set in stone just yet though as Ninja Theory is in talks with XBOX to figure out what comes next. The Verge's report coincides with a separate report from Bloomberg that states XBOX is at least looking for a potential buyer for Ninja Theory.
Bloomberg's report continues to say that Double Fine is also currently engaged with talks with XBOX. None of the potential outcomes for any of these studios is particularly positive. There is a chance that the studios may be able to buy their independence from XBOX, but this still runs the risk of numerous employees losing their jobs. The studios may just end up being fully shuttered, leaving all employees without a job. The best case would be if another company acquired these studios, though even that runs the risk of employees being laid off.
Sources familiar with the events going on at Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine say that employees "have been informed of the situation and given permission to seek new work but were told that the status of the studios is still in flux."
Mass layoffs across XBOX weren't really expected to begin until July, when Microsoft begins their new fiscal year. These potential studio closures are almost certainly just the beginning of a massive reorganization underway across Microsoft's XBOX division.
All three studios on the chopping block have won several awards for their releases, despite not finding much sales success. South of Midnight won a Peabody, a BAFTA, and several other awards for Compulsion Games. Double Fine recently released a pottery-focused, multiplayer action title Kiln. They are known for the Psychonauts franchise, Costume Quest, Stacking, and Brütal Legend.
Ninja Theory is the development studio behind such titles as Heavenly Sword and the Hellblade series. Just about one week ago, Ninja Theory debuted a new title set in the Hellblade universe, simply entitled Senua. The debut trailer for Senua was shown as part of the biggest XBOX showcase of the year: XBOX Games Showcase 2026. The game looked to be more action focused and was promoted as being "a very different kind of game" to the previous Hellblade titles. To go from having a debut trailer at the biggest event of the year to being on the verge of shutting down is perhaps one of the most garbage moves I could imagine from a parent company.
Senua was given a release window of 2027 from Ninja Theory. As is now currently the case with Ninja Theory, the future of Senua remains up in the air.
