As part of Microsoft's latest round of mass lay-offs, the console maker announced that it would be parting ways with a number of development teams. One such studio was Compulsion Games – the team behind the award-winning South of Midnight. A little over one month on from the announcement, Compulsion is now officially independent.

Taking part in an interview with the publication GamesBeat, Guillaume Provost – the CEO of Compulsion Games – confirmed that the studio has officially completed its buyout from Microsoft / Xbox.

As part of the deal, Compulsion have managed to retain the rights to all of their past releases, with Provost stating: “We're confirming we're getting all of our publishing rights back”. This means that proceeds from any new purchases of the team’s past work will now go directly to Compulsion Games itself.

While it was previously believed that the studio had finalised its independence thanks to Compulsion Games being listed as the publisher for South of Midnight on Steam, we’ve now gotten full confirmation straight from the horse’s mouth.

Though all is well that ends well, this whole debacle presented a major shake-up for Compulsion Games and its future, and so the team will likely need some time to re-centre themselves once again as an independent studio.

KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to the future of Compulsion? What do you hope to see the team work on next? Let us know down below.

Following the mass Xbox layoffs (3,200 employees to be cut by July 2027, not to mention all the codev partners and vendors), developers and analysts started looking into what happened for the division to reach such a low point, and the failure of Game Pass came up in most conversations, especially when a new report revealed that the subscriber base actually decreased from 34 to 30 million. Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler, for instance, opined that they never delivered the big hits a subscription service would need. Anyway, the big question mark now is pertaining to the future of Game […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-studio-leaders-detest-game-pass-schreier/

Montréal-based developer Compulsion Games is among the studios that were officially divested from Microsoft's Xbox last week. Indeed, Compulsion Games (like Double Fine Productions) was sold back to its own management and has therefore returned to full independence, but that does not mean they won't need partners. In fact, they haven't wasted any time at all in opening the search. A few hours ago, the official LinkedIn account of the studio posted the following call-out message to fellow industry members: With Compulsion Games returning to its roots as an independent developer, we are expanding opportunities to collaborate with studios across […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/compulsion-games-seeks-partners-after-xbox-divestment/

A wave of job‑seeking posts from Compulsion Games developers has raised fresh concerns about the studio’s future, with several staff members now publicly indicating they are searching for new roles. This would indicate that word has begun to spread internally that layoffs are coming down the pipeline from Microsoft in an effort to cut costs.

As spotted by Insider Gaming, none of the developers have explicitly mentioned layoffs, but the timing and volume of posts imply that word of layoffs has begun to spread internally. This follows earlier rumours that Compulsion Games would be included in a wave of Xbox studio closures expected to be finalised in July, ahead of Microsoft's next quarterly earnings report.

Earlier reporting indicated that Compulsion, Double Fine and Ninja Theory were in negotiations with Microsoft to either go independent or find a buyer for the studio. Previous reporting also indicated that Ninja Theory's next Hellblade game, simply titled ‘Senua', was announced to attract investors before Microsoft finalises its plans.

Compulsion Games was acquired by Microsoft back in 2018 alongside Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Double Fine, InXile and Obsidian Entertainment. Since joining Xbox, the studio has only released one new title, South of Midnight, which launched in 2025 to minimal fanfare. Before the acquisition, Compulsion gained attention for We Happy Few, a game that went viral at reveal but ultimately struggled to meet player expectations.

KitGuru Says: I think one of the biggest factors here is location. Double Fine is based in the notoriously expensive San Francisco area, while Compulsion Games is based in Montreal, another major city where game studios have been struggling to survive in recent years. Hopefully those impacted can find new roles soon, but finding something local in those areas is going to be increasingly difficult as more studios close. 

After hosting what many fans agreed was a solid Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month, Microsoft / Xbox have since found themselves surrounded by seemingly nothing but bad news. Alongside concerns of rising component costs, mixed messaging regarding console exclusives and more, insiders are now claiming that multiple Xbox studios could be on their way to being shut down soon including Arkane and Compulsion Games.

Following their recent summer games showcase, Microsoft have been talking quite a bit on the future of Xbox, referring to the next 100 days being a “reset” for the console maker while speaking candidly on some of the issues which the platform is facing.

In amongst all of this, multiple insiders have indicated that these changes could include a number of studio closures, with Mike Straw of Insider-Gaming claiming that both Arkane and Compulsion Games are “scared” and showing “real concern” that their studios could be shut down as part of these plans.

With regards to the latter, Kotaku’s Rebekah Valentine reported that Compulsion Games are indeed on the chopping block – although leadership at the studio is currently “in ‘negotiations’ with Microsoft over the studio’s fate”. Compulsion Games is of course known for their work on We Happy Few as well as the more recent South of Midnight.

While Arkane Austin was shut down back in 2024, their main studio – Lyon – has continued to operate and are supposedly currently working on the much-anticipated ‘Marvel’s Blade’. For context, Arkane Lyon is/was the more tenured of the two halves, being responsible for the likes of Dishonored 2; Deathloop and, as mentioned, the upcoming Blade.

Whether these studio closures will come to be or not, we will have to wait and see. That said, there is no denying that Microsoft / Xbox is planning a ton of changes over the coming months.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of Xbox under Asha Sharma’s leadership? Have you been looking forward to Marvel’s Blade? Let us know down below.

Ever since Bloomberg's report that there would be layoffs at Xbox at the end of the month, the entire video game industry has been on high alert. Waiting in horror to see how bad the layoffs would be this time, with initial claims pointing to them being potentially as bad as when Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees at Xbox and shuttered Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin in 2024. Or perhaps even as bad as the layoffs last year, which cut 9,000 employees across Microsoft and also drastically impacted the Xbox division. Today, we're hearing more bad news that is starting […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xbox-layoffs-significant-bloodbath-compulsion-games-south-of-midnight/

Update 15/06/2026: Kotaku's report (linked below) has been updated to claim that leadership at Compulsion is "in negotiations" with Microsoft over the studio's fate, though any details and decisions have not been shared. Original Story: Shortly after a report from Bloomberg claimed Xbox was planning more mass layoffs for the end of June 2026, a report from The Verge added that those layoffs could also include studio closures. Now, a new claim from Mike Straw, a reporter at Insider-Gaming, adds that at least two of the studios concerned for their safety are Compulsion Games in Montreal, makers of last year's […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/compulsion-games-arkane-lyon-xbox-studios-scared-of-being-shut-down/

The Canadian Game Awards 2026 have come and gone to finally close out the awards season for 2025, and while its regional restrictions meant this was one awards show that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 couldn't run away with, it did have a singular game dominating the night. South of Midnight was the clear winner of the evening, taking home seven awards, including the biggest award of the night. Compulsion Games' story-driven adventure won in almost every category it was nominated in, save for Innovation in Accessibility, which Assassin's Creed Shadows took home as its singular win of the night. Compulsion […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/south-of-midnight-dominates-canadian-game-awards-2026-with-a-near-perfect-sweep-including-goty/

The Canadian Game Awards are back for its sixth year with the 2026 CGA's, celebrating games made in Canada and by Canadians. This year, it's very much a Quebec-led affair, as all of the games up for Game of the Year (save for one) are based in the French Canadian province, and those titles are also the ones with the most nominations across all categories, with Assassin's Creed Shadows, Hell is Us, and South of Midnight leading the charge. Assassin's Creed Shadows leads the pack with a total of nine nominations across all categories, with South of Midnight in a […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/canadian-game-awards-2026-nominees-reveal-assassins-creed-shadows-hell-is-u/

Compulsion Games is one of the more interesting studios to have been swept up by Microsoft during the company’s big developer spending spree from years gone by, with the previously-indie studio known best for creating the somewhat-mixed We Happy Few. In the wake of the team’s most recent release ‘South of Midnight’ Compulsion Games have confirmed that they are currently working on a brand new IP.

As reported by the publication Clawsomegamer, Compulsion Games recently published a job listing on LinkedIn, teasing some of the team’s upcoming plans in the wake of South of Midnight’s multi-platform release, writing: “We're hiring at Compulsion Games in #programming, #design and #art.”

While relatively little can be gleaned from the jobs themselves, the post concludes with a slight tease for what Compulsion Games is working on, stating: “It's the same, wonderful group of people to work with. A fascinating, intriguing, brand new IP.”

While neither We Happy Few nor South of Midnight were the most popular of releases, it is still interesting nonetheless to see the team opting to create another brand new IP for the 4th time in a row.

Going from We Happy Few to South of Midnight, Compulsion Games are clearly improving with each new release. As such, here’s to hoping that 3rd time’s the charm and that whatever they are currently working on winds up putting the studio on the map.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of Compulsion's output? Are you hopeful for this new IP? What direction would you like to see the team head in? Let us know down below.

At the tail-end of last year, Microsoft and Compulsion Games announced that the first-party Xbox console exclusive South of Midnight would be coming to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 in Spring of 2026. With the season almost upon us, South of Midnight’s multi-platform release date has now been revealed, with the game officially arriving later this month.

Making the announcement via a new ‘Critical Acclaim Trailer’ the team at Compulsion Games officially confirmed that South of Midnight will arrive on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 on the 31st of March – one week ahead of the game’s 1st anniversary.

For the uninitiated, South of Midnight is the first project from studio Compulsion Games since they were acquired by Microsoft back in 2018. Arriving in April of last year, the game was praised for its music, storytelling and art design, but was unfortunately hampered by repetitive gameplay and combat in particular.

So far, details surrounding the PS5 and Switch 2 versions remain light, with no price being provided – though we do know the game will offer both a Standard and Weaver’s Edition; the latter of which simply comes with a digital artbook; soundtrack; documentary and other bonus bits of media.

In terms of specifications, nothing was shared, although the PlayStation Store page does confirm that the game is PS5 Pro Enhanced. For context, the Series X version of the game ran internally between 1080p and 4K at 60fps, with the Series S arriving at between 540p to 1080p – and so expect the PS5 and Switch 2 to land in a similar ballpark.

Regardless, while not for everyone, South of Midnight occupies a particular spot within the wider games industry, and so it is exciting to see the game coming to additional platforms where it can hopefully reach new audiences.

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KitGuru says: Are you looking forward to South of Midnight? What do you think of its unique stop motion aesthetic? How much do you reckon the game will cost? Let us know down below.

After confirming that South of Midnight would be coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 sometime in Spring 2026 a few hours ahead of The Game Awards 2025, developer Compulsion Games has confirmed that its previously Xbox Series console exclusive will arrive on PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 later this month on March 31, 2026. The release date for the new versions of the game came with a new trailer, which you can see below. After Avowed, Compulsion Games' South of Midnight was the next major release from an Xbox Game Studios team to hit shelves last year. Now, it'll […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/south-of-midnight-ps5-nintendo-switch-2-release-date/

MSI has announced a limited edition collaboration with Blizzard to celebrate the launch of the World of Warcraft Midnight expansion. This partnership introduces the MSI x World of Warcraft Midnight GeForce RTX 5070, available in two distinct collector-focused designs: the Light Edition and the Void Edition. These cards are built on the Nvidia Blackwell architecture and are inspired by the return to the elven lands of Quel'Thalas, where the battle between the Light and the Void takes centre stage.

The Void Edition captures the essence of the Voidstorm with a dark blue and purple aesthetic, featuring sharp lines and shadow-infused details for players aligned with Xal'Atath. In contrast, the Light Edition features a gold-and-white design with luminous accents that represent the Army of the Light defending the Sunwell. Both models use the Tri Frozr 4 thermal solution with Stormforce fans and a nickel-plated copper baseplate.

Technically, both cards offer identical specs, including 12 GB of GDDR7 memory at 28 Gbps and 6,144 CUDA cores. They feature a boosted clock frequency of 2625 MHz in Extreme Performance mode (via MSI Center) and a single 16-pin connector. To power it, MSI recommends at least a 650W PSU. These limited-edition GPUs are now available and seem to cost a small premium over the standard MSI RTX 5070 Gaming Trio cards. Some retailers already have them available, including Overclockers UK (at £720) and LDLC (at €830).

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KitGuru says: Are you upgrading your PC for the new WoW expansion? 

With exactly a week left before the official launch of World of Warcraft: Midnight, here's a semi-exclusive interview with Blizzard where four members of the development team open up on the key areas of the game's eleventh expansion, such as dungeons, raids, delves, the Zul'aman zone, and the new Prey system. I said semi-exclusive because I shared the remote interview session with Carrie Lambertsen from Screen Rant, so you'll see her name pop up as well throughout the transcript when she was the one asking questions. The following Blizzard developers were involved: Associate Game Director Paul Kubit, Lead Encounter Designer […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/wow-midnight-interview-prey-system-raids-zulaman/