Compulsion Games goes independent again after Xbox buyout

Compulsion Games is free of Xbox, and its CEO sounds oddly upbeat about it.

The We Happy Few and South of Midnight studio is one of several Xbox-owned teams cut loose during the recent Xbox Reset, a shake-up that also cost 3,200 people their jobs. Unlike some studios left scrambling, Compulsion Games pulled off a management buyout and is now independent again.

CEO Guillaume Provost told GamesBeat the studio is currently sorting out the legal side of getting publishing rights back for its IPs. The plan going forward is to be selective, not desperate. As Provost put it, the team is “getting a sense for what the management team is interested in doing and building,” and isn’t rushing into anything.

A rough market, but not necessarily a bad time for Compulsion Games to start

Provost doesn’t shy away from the fact that the industry is in a tough spot right now. But he reckons that’s not entirely a bad thing. Lean times force studios to build good habits early, spend carefully, and avoid bloat. He compared it to when he first started the studio, which was also during a difficult economic stretch.

There’s clearly relief in getting the IPs back too. Provost said the team is excited to keep telling “weird stories and weird worlds” without a publisher looking over their shoulder.

Independence is a gamble, especially right now. But Compulsion Games sounds like a studio that’s chosen its own pace over chasing a quick win, and that’s a rarer thing to see these days.

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